Hello 'Pussy' it's Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Pippi Longstocking:
Less than a month into your tenure, your White House became embroiled in scandal as questions swirl about links between his campaign staff and Russian officials.
So far, the controversy has claimed one political scalp, with the resignation of Michael Flynn as National Security Adviser on the grounds that he misled the vice president about his contacts with a Russian ambassador.
Now, the Attorney General Jeff Sessions is facing calls to resign after it emerged he had two conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States during the presidential campaign season last year.
Do you have any idea why we feel so ashamed? I do!
Should I remain in bed, leave my country or fight against the dragon?
( see also the story by Wolfgang Hampel,
' Betty MacDonald: Nothing more to say ' )
Betty and Don MacDonald in Hollywood
Betty MacDonald's mother Sydney with grandchild Alison Beck
Betty MacDonald fan club fans,
you can join Betty MacDonald fan club on Facebook.
Thank you so much in advance for your support and interest.Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund interviewed author Traci Tyne Hilton who is a huge Betty MacDonald fan.
Many greetings to Traci Tyne Hilton and Betty MacDonald fan club fans around the world.
Lena
Betty MacDonald fan club interview with author Traci Tyne Hilton
Copyright 2014/2017 by Traci Tyne Hilton & Linde Lund
All rights reserved
I can find several interviews with you. Which two ones do you prefer?
Here are two recent interviews. The second one is a "character interview" with the characters from my newest book, which is kind of fun.
This
is a picture of me on my tenth wedding anniversary at The Betty
MacDonald Farm on Vashon. My sweet husband planned our weekend away, but
didn't realize that I actually wanted to STAY at the farm! But he did
drive me there to see it before we went home, though. I'm pretty little
in the picture, but if you look closely, you can see me by the door to
the barn.
Which book by Betty MacDonald did you read first?
My
mom gave me her copy of The Egg and I when I was about 11. It was my
first taste of Betty Macdonald, but I was definitely hooked! I read it
at least once a year until I was in my twenties and finally got around
to finding the rest of her work at my library...and then collecting
reprints.
What do you like most in Betty MacDonald's books?
I love her over the top humor paired with her brutally honest representation of life.
Is there anything you dislike in Betty MacDonald's books?
One
could call her portrayal of the Native Americans of the Pacific
Northwest in the Egg and I racist, but she was a woman of her time, and
the things she writes about, such as alcoholism, are not untrue. They
are just reported with that brutal honesty that she also uses for her
white neighbors--no one is safe from her sharp pen. So, it makes me a
little uncomfortable to read, but at the same time, I think it is real
(from her perspective at least, and her perspective is valid,) and I
don't dislike it, if that makes sense.
Did you ever read Betty MacDonald's books for children for example The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series and Nancy and Plum?
Oh yes! I wish I had had them as kids, but I have been reading them to my
kids which is even better! My sister in law bought me Nancy and Plum
several years back, and I love it. I don't know why it's not a classic
on par with the Secret Garden or the Little Princess! But...even better
than Nancy and Plum are the Piggle Wiggle books. They crack my kids up,
and were the first chapter books that my girls really devoured. They
crack me up, too!
What is your favourite book by Betty MacDonald?
It
is still The Egg and I. It's a book that formed so much of my opinion
on fiction and held such an important part of my growing up--I don't
think anything could beat it. My husband and I call snobby activities
"The Theatah and the Dahnce" and I've been known to say "I itch, so I
scratch, so what?"
Did Betty MacDonald influence you as author?
Absolutely. Though I write mysteries I want them to be funny, and I hold Betty MacDonald's work up as a standard for humor.
What do you think is the reason Betty MacDonald is beloved all over the world?
Betty's work gives us a glimpse into a world that we would have never known without her. Both life in the Olympic Mountains and on Vashon are so different from regular town and city life. I think readers love to escape, and the more remote the location, the more different the people we get to meet, the more we love the work! Betty's books help us all escape to a time that is getting farther and farther away, and a place that doesn't even exist anymore, but even when it did, it was unexpected, hilarious, and stunningly beautiful.
Dearest Traci I hope I don't bore with so many questions.
I wasn't a bit bored! Betty MacDonald is definitely my favorite author and I loved having a chance to talk about her work and why I love it so much!
I wasn't a bit bored! Betty MacDonald is definitely my favorite author and I loved having a chance to talk about her work and why I love it so much!
As I already mentioned there are several Betty MacDonald fan club fans who enjoy your books very much.
That
people who love Betty MacDonald also like my books is almost
unbelievable to me, and really is a dream come true, as an author. When I
was a young girl, curled up with her work, escaping to that remote egg
farm, I never dreamed that someday people who loved her, would also
enjoy what I had to say.
Dearest Traci thanks a million for this wonderful interview.
Lots of love to you and your family.
Lots of love to you, as well! Thank you.
Traci
Many greetings to Traci Tyne Hilton and Betty MacDonald fan club fans around the world.
Lena
Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel and Betty MacDonald fan club research team are going to include all these new details and info in updated Betty MacDonald biography.
More info in Betty MacDonald fan club newsletter March.
If you'd like to join Betty MacDonald fan club you only have to press the join button on Betty MacDonald fan club blog.
New Betty MacDonald fan club fans will receive a special Betty MacDonald fan club Welcome gift during March.
This is my favourite city for next International Betty MacDonald fan club event.
Wolfgang Hampel's Vita Magica February was outstanding and so was Vita Magica Betty MacDonald event with Wolfgang Hampel, Thomas Bödigheimer and Friedrich von Hoheneichen
Wolfgang Hampel and Betty MacDonald fan club research team are working on an updated Betty MacDonald biography.
This very new Betty MacDonald biography includes all the results we got during a very successful Betty MacDonald fan club research which started in 1983.
You'll be able to find unique Betty MacDonald treasures in our Betty MacDonald biography.
Betty MacDonald biography includes for example interviews with Betty MacDonald, her family and friends.
We got many letters by Betty MacDonald and other family members even very important original ones.
Our goal is to publish a Betty MacDonald biography that shows all the details of Betty MacDonald's life and work but also to present her fascinating siblings.
Dear Betty MacDonald fan club fans let us know please what you are interested most in a future Betty MacDonald biography.
Do you prefer an e-book or a so called real book?
Wolfgang Hampel and Friends of Vita Magica visited Minister of Science of Baden-Württemberg, Theresia Bauer in Stuttgart.
They visited Landtag and had a great time there.
Do you have any books by Betty MacDonald and Mary Bard Jensen with funny or interesting dedications?
If so would you be so kind to share them?
Our next Betty MacDonald fan club project is a collection of these unique dedications.
If you share your dedication from your Betty MacDonald - and Mary Bard Jensen collection you might be the winner of our new Betty MacDonald fan club items.
Thank you so much in advance for your support.
Thank you so much for sending us your favourite Betty MacDonald quote.
You'll be able to read more info during February.
We are so glad that our beloved Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Mr. Tigerli is back.
New Betty MacDonald documentary will be very interesting with many new interviews.
Alison Bard Burnett and other Betty MacDonald fan club honor members will be included in Wolfgang Hampel's fascinating project Vita Magica.
Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel interviewed Betty MacDonald's daughter Joan MacDonald Keil and her husband Jerry Keil.
This interview will be published for the first time ever.
New Betty MacDonald documentary will be very interesting with many interviews never published before.
We adore Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Mr. Tigerli
Thank you so much for sharing this witty memories with us.
Wolfgang Hampel's literary event Vita Magica is very fascinating because he is going to include Betty MacDonald, other members of the Bard family and Betty MacDonald fan club honor members.
It's simply great to read Wolfgang Hampel's new very well researched stories about Betty MacDonald, Robert Eugene Heskett, Donald Chauncey MacDonald, Darsie Bard, Sydney Bard, Gammy, Alison Bard Burnett, Darsie Beck, Mary Bard Jensen, Clyde Reynolds Jensen, Sydney Cleveland Bard, Mary Alice Bard, Dorothea DeDe Goldsmith, Madge Baldwin, Don Woodfin, Mike Gordon, Ma and Pa Kettle, Nancy and Plum, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and others.
Linde Lund and many fans from all over the world adore this funny sketch by Wolfgang Hampel very much although our German isn't the best.
I won't ever forget the way Wolfgang Hampel is shouting ' Brexit '.
Don't miss it, please.
It's simply great!
You can hear that Wolfgang Hampel got an outstandig voice.
He presented one of Linde Lund's favourite songs ' Try to remember ' like a professional singer.
Thanks a million!
Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Mr. Tigerli and our 'Italian Betty MacDonald' - Betty MacDonald fan club honor member author and artist Letizia Mancino belong to the most popular Betty MacDonald fan club teams in our history.
Their many devoted fans are waiting for a new Mr. Tigerli adventure.
Letizia Mancino's magical Betty MacDonald Gallery is a special gift for Betty MacDonald fan club fans from all over the world.
Don't miss Brad Craft's 'More friends', please.
Betty MacDonald's very beautiful Vashon Island is one of my favourites.
I agree with Betty in this very witty Betty MacDonald story Betty MacDonald: Nothing more to say by Wolfgang Hampel.
I can't imagine to live in a country with him as so-called elected President although there are very good reasons to remain there to fight against these brainless politics.
As president-elect, Mr Trump suggested he scrap the sanctions - imposed by the Obama administration in late December in response to Moscow's alleged cyber attacks - if Moscow proves helpful in battling terrorists and reaching other goals important to Washington. "If you get along and if Russia is really helping us, why would anybody have sanctions if somebody's doing some really great things?" he told the Wall Street Journal.
Lately,
it appears Trump has gone back into the field to drag in a whole new
bunch of State contenders.
My favorite is Representative Dana Rohrabacher of California, a person you have probably never heard of even though he’s been in Congress since the 1980s and is currently head of the prestigious Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats.
Rohrabacher
is also a surfer and former folk singer who once claimed global warming
might be connected to “dinosaur flatulence.” My favorite is Representative Dana Rohrabacher of California, a person you have probably never heard of even though he’s been in Congress since the 1980s and is currently head of the prestigious Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats.
I think the future dinosaur flatulence will be the behaviour of 'Pussy' and his very strange government.
Poor World! Poor America!
Don't miss these very interesting articles below, please.
The most difficult case in Mrs.Piggle-Wiggle's career
Hello 'Pussy', this is Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.
You took calls from foreign leaders on unsecured phone lines, without consultung the State Department. We have to change your silly behaviour with a new Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle cure. I know you are the most difficult case in my career - but we have to try everything.......................
Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel sent his brilliant thoughts. Thank you so much dear Wolfgang!
Hi Libi, nice to meet you. Can you feel it?
I'll be the most powerful leader in the world.
Betty MacDonald: Nothing more to say
Copyright 2016 by Wolfgang Hampel
All rights reserved
Betty MacDonald was sitting on her egg-shaped cloud and listened to a rather strange guy.
He said to his friends: So sorry to keep you waiting. Very complicated business! Very complicated!
Betty said: Obviously much too complicated for you old toupee!
Besides him ( by the way the First Lady's place ) his 10 year old son was bored to death and listened to this 'exciting' victory speech.
The old man could be his great-grandfather.
The boy was very tired and thought: I don't know what this old guy is talking about. Come on and finish it, please. I'd like to go to bed.
Dear 'great-grandfather' continued and praised the Democratic candidate.
He congratulated her and her family for a very strong campaign although he wanted to put her in jail.
He always called her the most corrupt person ever and repeated it over and over again in the fashion of a Tibetan prayer wheel.
She is so corrupt. She is so corrupt. Do you know how corrupt she is?
Betty MacDonald couldn't believe it when he said: She has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country.
Afterwards old toupee praised his parents, wife, children, siblings and friends.
He asked the same question like a parrot all the time:
Where are you? Where are you? Where are you?
I know you are here!
Betty MacDonald answered: No Pussy they are not! They left the country.
They immigrated to Canada because they are very much afraid of the future in the U.S.A. with you as their leader like the majority of all so-called more or less normal citizens.
By the way keep your finger far away from the pussies and the Red Button, please.
I'm going to fly with my egg-shaped cloud to Canada within a minute too.
Away - away - there is nothing more to say!
I can understand the reason why Betty MacDonald, Barbara Streisand, other artists and several of my friends want to leave the United States of America.
I totally agree with these comments:
This
is incredible! I'll You get what you pay/vote for and Trump is the
epitome of this ideology. America I won't feel bad for you because you
don't need my sympathy for what's coming but I am genuinely scared for
you. 'Forgive them lord for they know not who they do' or maybe they do
but just don't care about their future generations who will suffer for
this long after the culprits have passed away.
Daniel Mount wrote a great article about Betty MacDonald and her garden.
We hope you'll enjoy it very much.
I adore Mount Rainier and Betty MacDonald's outstanding descriptions
Can you remember in which book you can find it?
If so let us know, please and you might be the next Betty MacDonald fan club contest winner.
I hope we'll be able to read Wolfgang Hampel's new very well researched stories about Betty MacDonald, Robert Eugene Heskett, Donald Chauncey MacDonald, Darsie Bard, Sydney Bard, Gammy, Alison Bard Burnett, Darsie Beck, Mary Bard Jensen, Clyde Reynolds Jensen, Sydney Cleveland Bard, Mary Alice Bard, Dorothea DeDe Goldsmith, Madge Baldwin, Don Woodfin, Mike Gordon, Ma and Pa Kettle, Nancy and Plum, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and others - very soon.
It' s such a pleasure to read them.
Let's go to magical Betty MacDonald's Vashon Island.
Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund and Betty MacDonald fan club research team share their recent Betty MacDonald fan club research results.
Congratulations! They found the most interesting and important info for Wolfgang Hampel's oustanding Betty MacDonald biography.
I enjoy Bradley Craft's story very much.
Don't miss our Betty MacDonald fan club contests, please.
You can win a never published before Alison Bard Burnett interview by Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel.
Good luck!
This CD is a golden treasure because Betty MacDonald's very witty sister Alison Bard Burnett shares unique stories about Betty MacDonald, Mary Bard Jensen, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Nancy and Plum.
Wolfgang Hampel's Betty MacDonald and Ma and Pa Kettle biography and Betty MacDonald interviews have fans in 40 countries. I'm one of their many devoted fans.
Many Betty MacDonald - and Wolfgang Hampel fans are very interested in a Wolfgang Hampel CD and DVD with his very funny poems and stories.
We are going to publish new Betty MacDonald essays on Betty MacDonald's gardens and nature in Washington State.
Tell us the names of this mysterious couple please and you can win a very new Betty MacDonald documentary.
Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Mr. Tigerli is beloved all over the World.
We are so happy that our 'Casanova' is back.
Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel
and Betty MacDonald fan club research team are going to share very
interesting info on ' Betty MacDonald and the movie The Egg and I '.
Another rare episode (from March 21 1952) of the short-lived comedy soap opera, "The Egg and I," based on best selling book by Betty MacDonald which also became a popular film.
The series premiered on September 3, 1951, the same day as "Search for Tomorrow," and ended on August 1, 1952.
Although it did well in the ratings, it had difficulty attracting a steady sponsor. This episode features Betty Lynn (later known for her work on "The Andy Griffith Show") as Betty MacDonald, John Craven as Bob MacDonald, Doris Rich as Ma Kettle, and Frank Twedell as Pa Kettle.
Betty MacDonald fan club exhibition will be fascinating with the international book editions and letters by Betty MacDonald.
I can't wait to see the new Betty MacDonald documentary.
Enjoy a great breakfast at the bookstore with Brad and Nick, please.
Take care,
Lina
Another rare episode (from March 21 1952) of the short-lived comedy soap opera, "The Egg and I," based on best selling book by Betty MacDonald which also became a popular film.
The series premiered on September 3, 1951, the same day as "Search for Tomorrow," and ended on August 1, 1952.
Although it did well in the ratings, it had difficulty attracting a steady sponsor. This episode features Betty Lynn (later known for her work on "The Andy Griffith Show") as Betty MacDonald, John Craven as Bob MacDonald, Doris Rich as Ma Kettle, and Frank Twedell as Pa Kettle.
Betty MacDonald fan club exhibition will be fascinating with the international book editions and letters by Betty MacDonald.
I can't wait to see the new Betty MacDonald documentary.
Enjoy a great breakfast at the bookstore with Brad and Nick, please.
Take care,
Lina
Vita Magica Betty MacDonald event with Wolfgang Hampel, Thomas Bödigheimer and Friedrich von Hoheneichen
Vita Magica
Betty MacDonald
Betty MacDonald fan club
Betty MacDonald fan club on Facebook
Betty MacDonald forum
Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English )
Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) - The Egg and I
Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( Polski)
Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( German )
Wolfgang Hampel - LinkFang ( German ) Wolfgang Hampel - Academic ( German )
Wolfgang Hampel - cyclopaedia.net ( German )
Wolfgang Hampel - DBpedia ( English / German )
Wolfgang Hampel - people check ( English )
Wolfgang Hampel - Memim ( English )
Vashon Island - Wikipedia ( German )
Wolfgang Hampel - Monica Sone - Wikipedia ( English )
Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( English )
Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( French )
Wolfgang Hampel - Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle - Wikipedia ( English)
Wolfgang Hampel in Florida State University
Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel
Betty MacDonald fan club interviews on CD/DVD
Betty MacDonald fan club items
Betty MacDonald fan club items - comments
Betty MacDonald fan club - The Stove and I
Betty MacDonald fan club groups
Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund
Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Greta Larson
Betty MacDonald fan club fan Heiderose Teynor
Rita Knobel Ulrich - Islam in Germany - a very interesting ZDF ( 2nd German Television ) documentary with English subtitles
Donald Trump and the Russia connections: From Jeff Sessions' contacts with ambassador to 'campaign's intercepted calls with Moscow spies'
Less than a month into his tenure, Donald Trump's White House became embroiled in scandal as questions swirl about links between his campaign staff and Russian officials.
So far, the controversy has claimed one political scalp, with the resignation of Michael Flynn as National Security Adviser on the grounds that he misled the vice president about his contacts with a Russian ambassador.
Some senior Republicans have issued their boldest challenge with a vow to get to the bottom of the matter, while Democrats have demanded an independent probe.
Yet even from early on in the Republican's bid to be president, Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin have loomed large.
From warm words between leaders to a salacious dossier compiled by a former MI6 agent, here are the links to Russia that have overshadowed both Mr Trump's candidacy and his presidency.
Speaking after an annual televised press conference in December 2015, Mr Putin said the Republican candidate was "a very outstanding man, unquestionably talented".
"It's not up to us to judge his virtue, that is up to US voters, but he is an absolute leader of the presidential race," he added.
So far, the controversy has claimed one political scalp, with the resignation of Michael Flynn as National Security Adviser on the grounds that he misled the vice president about his contacts with a Russian ambassador.
Now, the Attorney General Jeff Sessions is facing calls to resign after it emerged he had two conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States during the presidential campaign season last year.
Some senior Republicans have issued their boldest challenge with a vow to get to the bottom of the matter, while Democrats have demanded an independent probe.
Yet even from early on in the Republican's bid to be president, Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin have loomed large.
From warm words between leaders to a salacious dossier compiled by a former MI6 agent, here are the links to Russia that have overshadowed both Mr Trump's candidacy and his presidency.
The Trump and Putin 'bromance'
It was in the midst of the Republican primaries, with Mr Trump's place as the party's frontrunner for the nomination far from assured, when eyebrows were raised at the warm words exchanged by the Russian leader and the Republican presidential candidate.Speaking after an annual televised press conference in December 2015, Mr Putin said the Republican candidate was "a very outstanding man, unquestionably talented".
"It's not up to us to judge his virtue, that is up to US voters, but he is an absolute leader of the presidential race," he added.
Asked
how he how felt about the praise coming from "a man who kills
journalists, political opponents and invades countries", Mr Trump
said: "He’s running his country, and at least he’s a leader, you know,
unlike what we have in this country."
The following month, Mr Trump defended
Mr Putin after a British public inquiry found the Russian president
"probably" sanctioned the assassination of Russian dissident Alexander
Litvinenko in London. Mr Trump waded into the case saying he had
seen "no evidence" of Mr Putin's involvement, adding: "They say a lot of
things about me that are untrue too."
The bromance continued after Mr Trump won the Republican nomination, suggesting in July he would be open to forming a partnership with Mr Putin to tackle the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil).
"When you think about it, wouldn't it be nice if we got along with Russia...Wouldn't it be nice if we got together with Russia and knocked the hell out of [Isil]?" he said.
The bromance continued after Mr Trump won the Republican nomination, suggesting in July he would be open to forming a partnership with Mr Putin to tackle the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil).
"When you think about it, wouldn't it be nice if we got along with Russia...Wouldn't it be nice if we got together with Russia and knocked the hell out of [Isil]?" he said.
Mr Trump made headlines again in September when he compared Mr Putin favourably to Barack Obama. "The
man has very strong control over a country," Mr Trump said of the
Russian leader. "It's a very different system and I don't happen to like
the system, but certainly, in that system, he's been a leader, far more
than our president has been a leader."
Mr Trump said he felt he could get along with the Russian president, and was glad to have received a compliment from him. "Well I think when he called me brilliant, I'll take the compliment, okay?" Mr Trump said. "Look, it's not going to get him anywhere. I'm a negotiator."
Having won the election in November, the then president-elect continued to woo his Russian counterpart, praising Mr Putin as "very smart" for not engaging in a tit-for-tat row with the US over the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats accused of espionage.
Mr Trump said he felt he could get along with the Russian president, and was glad to have received a compliment from him. "Well I think when he called me brilliant, I'll take the compliment, okay?" Mr Trump said. "Look, it's not going to get him anywhere. I'm a negotiator."
Having won the election in November, the then president-elect continued to woo his Russian counterpart, praising Mr Putin as "very smart" for not engaging in a tit-for-tat row with the US over the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats accused of espionage.
Instead
of taking retaliatory action, Mr Putin said: "Further steps towards the
restoration of Russian-American relations will be built on the basis of
the policy which the administration of President D. Trump will carry
out."
Jeff Sessions recuses himself from Russia probe
Just three weeks after being confirmed as the country's attorney general, Mr Sessions faced calls to resign after it emerged he had two conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States during the presidential campaign season last year.Mr Sessions, an early supporter of President Donald Trump and a policy adviser to the Republican candidate, did not disclose those communications at his confirmation hearing in January when asked whether "anyone affiliated" with the campaign had contact with the Russians.
“I’m not aware of any of those activities,” he responded. “I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians.”
Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said "there was absolutely nothing misleading about his answer."
As attorney general, Mr Sessions oversees the justice department, including the FBI, which have been leading investigations into Russian meddling and any links to Mr Trump's associates.
Mr Sessions insisted he had done nothing wrong and was acting in his capacity as a senator. But he said he was happy to follow the counsel of his ethics advisers at the department of justice who said he should step aside from the FBI’s investigation.
Nancy Pelosi, the house Democratic leader, led calls for his resignation. "Jeff Sessions lied under oath during his confirmation hearing before the Senate," Ms Pelosi said in a statement released on Thursday. "Sessions is not fit to serve as the top law enforcement officer of our country and must resign."
As attorney general, Mr Sessions oversees the justice department, including the FBI, which have been leading investigations into Russian meddling and any links to Mr Trump's associates.
Mr Sessions insisted he had done nothing wrong and was acting in his capacity as a senator. But he said he was happy to follow the counsel of his ethics advisers at the department of justice who said he should step aside from the FBI’s investigation.
Nancy Pelosi, the house Democratic leader, led calls for his resignation. "Jeff Sessions lied under oath during his confirmation hearing before the Senate," Ms Pelosi said in a statement released on Thursday. "Sessions is not fit to serve as the top law enforcement officer of our country and must resign."
Michael Flynn and the lifting of sanctions
In the biggest blow to Mr Trump's nascent presidency, his National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned after it emerged he held secret talks with Russia before entering the White House.Mr Flynn admitted in his resignation letter he took several calls with the Russian ambassador to the US before entering the White House, which is potentially illegal under the 1799 Logan Act.
Mr Flynn, who has argued for closer ties with Russia, has acknowledged being paid to give a speech and attend a lavish anniversary party in December 2015 for the state-controlled RT television network in Moscow, where he sat beside Mr Putin. But he hasn't said who wrote the check or for how much. An RT video from the Moscow event showed Mr Flynn rising during a standing ovation following the Russian leader's address.
According
to the Washington Post, Mr Flynn "privately discussed US sanctions
against Russia with that country’s ambassador to the United States
during the month before President Trump took office."
As president-elect, Mr Trump suggested he scrap the sanctions - imposed by the Obama administration in late December in response to Moscow's alleged cyber attacks - if Moscow proves helpful in battling terrorists and reaching other goals important to Washington. "If you get along and if Russia is really helping us, why would anybody have sanctions if somebody's doing some really great things?" he told the Wall Street Journal.
As president-elect, Mr Trump suggested he scrap the sanctions - imposed by the Obama administration in late December in response to Moscow's alleged cyber attacks - if Moscow proves helpful in battling terrorists and reaching other goals important to Washington. "If you get along and if Russia is really helping us, why would anybody have sanctions if somebody's doing some really great things?" he told the Wall Street Journal.
Trump campaign's 'contacts with Russian spies before election'
Phone records and intercepted calls show that members of Mr Trump's presidential campaign and other Trump associates had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election, the New York Times reported, citing four current and former US officials.
US law
enforcement and intelligence agencies intercepted the communications
around the same time they were discovering evidence that Russia was
trying to disrupt the presidential election by hacking into the
Democratic National Committee, three of the officials said, according to
the Times.
The
intelligence agencies then sought to learn whether the Trump campaign
was colluding with the Russians on the hacking or other efforts to
influence the election, the newspaper said. The officials interviewed in
recent weeks said they had seen no evidence of such cooperation so far,
it said.
However, the intercepts alarmed U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies, in part because of the amount of contact that was occurring while Mr Trump was speaking glowingly about Mr Putin.
However, the intercepts alarmed U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies, in part because of the amount of contact that was occurring while Mr Trump was speaking glowingly about Mr Putin.
The Associated Press reported in August that Mr Manafort
helped a pro-Russian Ukrainian political party secretly move $2.2
million to two major Washington lobbying firms. The transfers were
reportedly set up using a non-profit organisation - to obscure the
Ukrainian party's attempts to influence US policies.
Mr
Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning that the accusations were "merely an
attempt to cover-up the many mistakes made in Hillary Clinton's losing
campaign".He added: "Information is being illegally given to the failing @nytimes & @washingtonpost by the intelligence community".
Paul Manafort
Hired in March to shore up Mr Trump's primary campaign team, Mr Manafort only lasted until August and was a divisive figure from the start.However, it was his business dealings in Russia and Ukraine that ultimately led to his resignation as campaign chairman.
US
law requires lobbying firms to register and report in detail to the
Justice Department any ties to foreign political parties or leaders.
Furthermore,
the Ukrainian National Anti-Corruption Bureau claimed a secret ledger
showed Mr Manafort had been earmarked $12.7 million in off-the-books
cash payments from the pro-Russian political party of Viktor Yanukovych,
Ukraine's former president.
Mr Manafort called the allegations "unfounded, silly, and nonsensical". Yet the damage was done.
The file was compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele and was initially funded by anti-Trump Republicans, and later by Democrats.
The 35-page document alleges the Kremlin colluded with Mr Trump’s presidential campaign and that the Russian security services have material that could be used to blackmail him, including an allegation that he paid prostitutes to defile a bed that had been slept in by Barack and Michelle Obama.
Mr Manafort called the allegations "unfounded, silly, and nonsensical". Yet the damage was done.
The former MI6 spy's dossier
Arguably the most explosive reports concerning Mr Trump's dealings in Russia was a dossier compiled by a former MI6 agent that emerged in January, shortly before he was due to enter the White House.The file was compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele and was initially funded by anti-Trump Republicans, and later by Democrats.
The 35-page document alleges the Kremlin colluded with Mr Trump’s presidential campaign and that the Russian security services have material that could be used to blackmail him, including an allegation that he paid prostitutes to defile a bed that had been slept in by Barack and Michelle Obama.
Mr
Trump said the publishing of the report was "something Nazi Germany
would have done" and called the dossier "fake news" and "phony stuff".
It also meant his already strained relationship with the intelligence community deteriorated further. "I think it was disgraceful, disgraceful that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned out to be so false and fake out there," he said.
The former adviser to Gazprom, Russia's state gas behemoth, raised eyebrows last July when he blasted the United States for showing "hypocrisy" towards Russia, during an address in Moscow. Page said the US and other Western countries unfairly vilified Russia for its problems, including corruption, which he said was just as easily found at home.
It also meant his already strained relationship with the intelligence community deteriorated further. "I think it was disgraceful, disgraceful that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned out to be so false and fake out there," he said.
Carter Page
A foreign policy adviser to Mr Trump during the campaign, Mr Page resigned in September after a number of reports about his links to Russia.The former adviser to Gazprom, Russia's state gas behemoth, raised eyebrows last July when he blasted the United States for showing "hypocrisy" towards Russia, during an address in Moscow. Page said the US and other Western countries unfairly vilified Russia for its problems, including corruption, which he said was just as easily found at home.
The
New York Times has reported that FBI agents examined last summer
numerous possible links between Russians and members of Mr. Trump’s
inner circle, including Mr Page and Mr Manafort, as well as computer
activity between the Trump Organisation and an email account at a large
Russian bank, Alfa Bank.
Donald Trump's campaign explicitly denied a claim the Trump Organisation used a private server to communicate with Alfa Bank.
Donald Trump's campaign explicitly denied a claim the Trump Organisation used a private server to communicate with Alfa Bank.
One
of Mr Sessions' conversations with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak occurred
at a July event on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention
in Cleveland. At that same event, the ambassador also spoke with Mr
Page, a person with knowledge of the discussion told AP.
In an interview with MSNBC, Mr Page said: "I never met him anywhere outside of Cleveland."
In an interview with MSNBC, Mr Page said: "I never met him anywhere outside of Cleveland."
Politics
President Trump, an Unlikely Champion of Affordable Child Care
In
his address to Congress Tuesday evening, President Trump leaned on some
of his standard crowd pleasers: immigration, jobs, terrorism.
But
he also revived one of his more surprising proposals, first introduced
on the campaign trail last year: “My administration wants to work with
members of both parties to make child care accessible and affordable,”
he said.
That
rhetoric makes Mr. Trump sound more like Hillary Clinton than Ronald
Reagan. And a potential debate over child-care policy could offer the
rare opportunity for the president and Democrats to cooperate — or at
least have a dialogue — over the coming year.
Mr.
Trump is not the first Republican president to demonstrate an interest
in child-care policy. During his 1968 campaign, Richard Nixon promised
to expand access to government-funded day care. But three years later,
influenced by the rise of the Christian right, Mr. Nixon vetoed the only universal child-care bill to pass Congress.
Those
without wages, like unemployed single parents seeking work or attending
job training, would not benefit from the Trump subsidies and are
underserved by existing programs. The Child Care and Development Block
Grant was created in 1996 as part of welfare reform and was intended to
help the poorest parents afford day care. Those benefits currently reach
only one out of every 10 eligible children, according to the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Despite its limited reach, the Trump plan is expensive. An analysis
by the Tax Policy Center found it would cost $115 billion over 10
years, most likely making it a nonstarter for Republicans. The proposal
also offers little to the working poor, a potential problem for
Democratic champions of child care, like Nancy Pelosi and Bernie
Sanders. The average annual benefit would be just $10 for families
earning $10,000 to $30,000 a year, according to the Tax Policy Center.
It
is difficult to square President Trump’s child-care plan with his other
budget priorities. Carrie L. Lukas, managing director of the
conservative Independent Women’s Forum, supports Mr. Trump’s efforts to
help families with child-care costs. But “he also talked about the need
for tax simplification,” she said, “which is inconsistent with using
deductions” as a social policy strategy.
Still,
Ms. Lukas is enthusiastic about some aspects of the Trump proposal,
including the fact that married couples with one stay-at-home parent
would be able to claim the same tax deduction as many dual-income
couples whose children are enrolled in child care. That is an unusual
element of the plan; after all, parents who care for their children at
home do not incur costs for day care tuition or nanny salaries.
Traditionally,
many European nations that enacted government-supported child care had
the goal of encouraging maternal employment. More working women means
more tax revenue, and better, more accessible child care helps convince
parents that they can afford to have more children, who in turn will
become future taxpayers supporting the welfare state.
That
is not a conservative vision. “It shouldn’t be about pushing to get
people into 9-to-5 jobs and kids into day care,” Ms. Lukas said. “That’s
not an appropriate role for government. I’ve got five kids, and there
are a lot of nonworking parents in my community. They are not only
taking care of their own kids, but they are volunteering at school.”
Though
she describes herself as a “a libertarian conservative type of person,”
Ms. Lukas enrolled her own children in Germany’s government child-care
system when the family was stationed in Berlin for her husband’s job.
The day care centers “were very expensive for taxpayers,” she said, but
she was impressed by the quality of the staff, whose training is
subsidized by the German government. “It’s a very serous profession, a
very respectable career to pursue,” Ms. Lukas said. “That’s not always
the case in America.”
Indeed, the median salary of an American child care worker is about $20,000 a year, a problem the Trump plan does not address.
Elaine
Maag, senior research associate at the Tax Policy Center, said the
president’s proposal would not “increase the amount of child care
available, nor will it increase the quality of care that low-income
families will be able to access.” However, Ms. Maag said she was willing
to give the president at least a little credit. “I would characterize
the plan as identifying an important problem,” she said.
Donald Trump's Congress speech (full text)
PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP'S ADDRESS TO A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS
Remarks as prepared for delivery
TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, the First Lady of the United States, and Citizens of America:
Tonight, as we mark the conclusion of our celebration of Black
History Month, we are reminded of our Nation's path toward civil rights
and the work that still remains. Recent threats targeting Jewish
Community Centers and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, as well as last
week's shooting in Kansas City, remind us that while we may be a Nation
divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning
hate and evil in all its forms.
Each American generation passes the torch of truth, liberty and
justice --- in an unbroken chain all the way down to the present.
That torch is now in our hands. And we will use it to light up the
world. I am here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength,
and it is a message deeply delivered from my heart.
A new chapter of American Greatness is now beginning.
A new national pride is sweeping across our Nation.
And a new surge of optimism is placing impossible dreams firmly within our grasp.
What we are witnessing today is the Renewal of the American Spirit.
Our allies will find that America is once again ready to lead.
All the nations of the world -- friend or foe -- will find that America is strong, America is proud, and America is free.
In 9 years, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary
of our founding -- 250 years since the day we declared our Independence.
It will be one of the great milestones in the history of the world.
But what will America look like as we reach our 250th year? What kind of country will we leave for our children?
I will not allow the mistakes of recent decades past to define the course of our future.
For too long, we've watched our middle class shrink as we've exported our jobs and wealth to foreign countries.
We've financed and built one global project after another, but
ignored the fates of our children in the inner cities of Chicago,
Baltimore, Detroit -- and so many other places throughout our land.
We've defended the borders of other nations, while leaving our own
borders wide open, for anyone to cross -- and for drugs to pour in at a
now unprecedented rate.
And we've spent trillions of dollars overseas, while our infrastructure at home has so badly crumbled.
Then, in 2016, the earth shifted beneath our feet. The rebellion
started as a quiet protest, spoken by families of all colors and creeds
--- families who just wanted a fair shot for their children, and a fair
hearing for their concerns.
But then the quiet voices became a loud chorus -- as thousands of
citizens now spoke out together, from cities small and large, all across
our country.
Finally, the
chorus became an earthquake -- and the people turned out by the tens of
millions, and they were all united by one very simple, but crucial
demand, that America must put its own citizens first ... because only
then, can we truly MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.
Dying industries will come roaring back to life. Heroic veterans will get the care they so desperately need.
Our military will be given the resources its brave warriors so richly deserve.
Crumbling infrastructure will be replaced with new roads, bridges,
tunnels, airports and railways gleaming across our beautiful land.
Our terrible drug epidemic will slow down and ultimately, stop.
And our neglected inner cities will see a rebirth of hope, safety, and opportunity.
Above all else, we will keep our promises to the American people.
It's been a little over a month since my inauguration, and I want
to take this moment to update the Nation on the progress I've made in
keeping those promises.
Since
my election, Ford, Fiat-Chrysler, General Motors, Sprint, Softbank,
Lockheed, Intel, Walmart, and many others, have announced that they will
invest billions of dollars in the United States and will create tens of
thousands of new American jobs.
The stock market has gained almost three trillion dollars in value
since the election on November 8th, a record. We've saved taxpayers
hundreds of millions of dollars by bringing down the price of the
fantastic new F-35 jet fighter, and will be saving billions more dollars
on contracts all across our Government. We have placed a hiring freeze
on non-military and non-essential Federal workers.
We have begun to drain the swamp of government corruption by
imposing a 5 year ban on lobbying by executive branch officials --- and a
lifetime ban on becoming lobbyists for a foreign government.
We have undertaken a historic effort to massively reduce
job‑crushing regulations, creating a deregulation task force inside of
every Government agency; imposing a new rule which mandates that for
every 1 new regulation, 2 old regulations must be eliminated; and
stopping a regulation that threatens the future and livelihoods of our
great coal miners.
We have
cleared the way for the construction of the Keystone and Dakota Access
Pipelines -- thereby creating tens of thousands of jobs -- and I've
issued a new directive that new American pipelines be made with American
steel.
We have withdrawn the United States from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership.
With the help of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, we have formed a
Council with our neighbors in Canada to help ensure that women
entrepreneurs have access to the networks, markets and capital they need
to start a business and live out their financial dreams.
To protect our citizens, I have directed the Department of Justice to form a Task Force on Reducing Violent Crime.
I have further ordered the Departments of Homeland Security and
Justice, along with the Department of State and the Director of National
Intelligence, to coordinate an aggressive strategy to dismantle the
criminal cartels that have spread across our Nation.
We will stop the drugs from pouring into our country and poisoning
our youth -- and we will expand treatment for those who have become so
badly addicted.
At the same
time, my Administration has answered the pleas of the American people
for immigration enforcement and border security. By finally enforcing
our immigration laws, we will raise wages, help the unemployed, save
billions of dollars, and make our communities safer for everyone. We
want all Americans to succeed --- but that can't happen in an
environment of lawless chaos. We must restore integrity and the rule of
law to our borders.
For that
reason, we will soon begin the construction of a great wall along our
southern border. It will be started ahead of schedule and, when
finished, it will be a very effective weapon against drugs and crime.
As we speak, we are removing gang members, drug dealers and
criminals that threaten our communities and prey on our citizens. Bad
ones are going out as I speak tonight and as I have promised.
To any in Congress who do not believe we should enforce our laws, I
would ask you this question: what would you say to the American family
that loses their jobs, their income, or a loved one, because America
refused to uphold its laws and defend its borders?
Our obligation is to serve, protect, and defend the citizens of the
United States. We are also taking strong measures to protect our
Nation from Radical Islamic Terrorism.
According to data provided by the Department of Justice, the vast
majority of individuals convicted for terrorism-related offenses since
9/11 came here from outside of our country. We have seen the attacks at
home --- from Boston to San Bernardino to the Pentagon and yes, even
the World Trade Center.
We have seen the attacks in France, in Belgium, in Germany and all over the world.
It is not compassionate, but reckless, to allow uncontrolled entry
from places where proper vetting cannot occur. Those given the high
honor of admission to the United States should support this country and
love its people and its values.
We cannot allow a beachhead of terrorism to form inside America -- we
cannot allow our Nation to become a sanctuary for extremists.
That is why my Administration has been working on improved vetting
procedures, and we will shortly take new steps to keep our Nation safe
-- and to keep out those who would do us harm.
As promised, I directed the Department of Defense to develop a plan
to demolish and destroy ISIS -- a network of lawless savages that have
slaughtered Muslims and Christians, and men, women, and children of all
faiths and beliefs. We will work with our allies, including our friends
and allies in the Muslim world, to extinguish this vile enemy from our
planet.
I have also imposed
new sanctions on entities and individuals who support Iran's ballistic
missile program, and reaffirmed our unbreakable alliance with the State
of Israel.
Finally, I have
kept my promise to appoint a Justice to the United States Supreme Court
-- from my list of 20 judges -- who will defend our Constitution. I am
honored to have Maureen Scalia with us in the gallery tonight. Her
late, great husband, Antonin Scalia, will forever be a symbol of
American justice. To fill his seat, we have chosen Judge Neil Gorsuch, a
man of incredible skill, and deep devotion to the law. He was
confirmed unanimously to the Court of Appeals, and I am asking the
Senate to swiftly approve his nomination.
Tonight, as I outline the next steps we must take as a country, we
must honestly acknowledge the circumstances we inherited.
Ninety-four million Americans are out of the labor force.
Over 43 million people are now living in poverty, and over 43 million Americans are on food stamps.
More than 1 in 5 people in their prime working years are not working.
We have the worst financial recovery in 65 years.
In the last 8 years, the past Administration has put on more new debt than nearly all other Presidents combined.
We've lost more than one-fourth of our manufacturing jobs since
NAFTA was approved, and we've lost 60,000 factories since China joined
the World Trade Organization in 2001.
Our trade deficit in goods with the world last year was nearly $800 billion dollars.
And overseas, we have inherited a series of tragic foreign policy disasters.
Solving these, and so many other pressing problems, will require us
to work past the differences of party. It will require us to tap into
the American spirit that has overcome every challenge throughout our
long and storied history.
But
to accomplish our goals at home and abroad, we must restart the engine
of the American economy -- making it easier for companies to do business
in the United States, and much harder for companies to leave.
Right now, American companies are taxed at one of the highest rates anywhere in the world.
My economic team is developing historic tax reform that will reduce
the tax rate on our companies so they can compete and thrive anywhere
and with anyone. At the same time, we will provide massive tax relief
for the middle class.
We must create a level playing field for American companies and workers.
Currently, when we ship products out of America, many other
countries make us pay very high tariffs and taxes -- but when foreign
companies ship their products into America, we charge them almost
nothing.
I just met with
officials and workers from a great American company, Harley-Davidson.
In fact, they proudly displayed five of their magnificent motorcycles,
made in the USA, on the front lawn of the White House.
At our meeting, I asked them, how are you doing, how is business?
They said that it's good. I asked them further how they are doing with
other countries, mainly international sales. They told me -- without
even complaining because they have been mistreated for so long that they
have become used to it -- that it is very hard to do business with
other countries because they tax our goods at such a high rate. They
said that in one case another country taxed their motorcycles at 100
percent.
They weren't even asking for change. But I am.
I believe strongly in free trade but it also has to be FAIR TRADE.
The first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, warned that the
"abandonment of the protective policy by the American Government [will]
produce want and ruin among our people."
Lincoln was right -- and it is time we heeded his words. I am not
going to let America and its great companies and workers, be taken
advantage of anymore.
I am
going to bring back millions of jobs. Protecting our workers also means
reforming our system of legal immigration. The current, outdated
system depresses wages for our poorest workers, and puts great pressure
on taxpayers.
Nations around
the world, like Canada, Australia and many others --- have a merit-based
immigration system. It is a basic principle that those seeking to
enter a country ought to be able to support themselves financially.
Yet, in America, we do not enforce this rule, straining the very public
resources that our poorest citizens rely upon. According to the
National Academy of Sciences, our current immigration system costs
America's taxpayers many billions of dollars a year.
Switching away from this current system of lower-skilled
immigration, and instead adopting a merit-based system, will have many
benefits: it will save countless dollars, raise workers' wages, and
help struggling families --- including immigrant families --- enter the
middle class.
I believe that real
and positive immigration reform is possible, as long as we focus on the
following goals: to improve jobs and wages for Americans, to strengthen
our nation's security, and to restore respect for our laws.
If
we are guided by the well-being of American citizens then I believe
Republicans and Democrats can work together to achieve an outcome that
has eluded our country for decades.
Another Republican President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, initiated the
last truly great national infrastructure program --- the building of the
interstate highway system. The time has come for a new program of
national rebuilding.
America
has spent approximately six trillion dollars in the Middle East, all
this while our infrastructure at home is crumbling. With this six
trillion dollars we could have rebuilt our country --- twice. And maybe
even three times if we had people who had the ability to negotiate.
To launch our national rebuilding, I will be asking the Congress to
approve legislation that produces a $1 trillion investment in the
infrastructure of the United States -- financed through both public and
private capital --- creating millions of new jobs.
This effort will be guided by two core principles: Buy American, and Hire American.
Tonight, I am also calling on this Congress to repeal and replace
Obamacare with reforms that expand choice, increase access, lower costs,
and at the same time, provide better Healthcare.
Mandating every American to buy government-approved health
insurance was never the right solution for America. The way to make
health insurance available to everyone is to lower the cost of health
insurance, and that is what we will do.
Obamacare premiums nationwide have increased by double and triple
digits. As an example, Arizona went up 116 percent last year alone.
Governor Matt Bevin of Kentucky just said Obamacare is failing in his
State -- it is unsustainable and collapsing.
One third of counties have only one insurer on the exchanges --- leaving many Americans with no choice at all.
Remember when you were told that you could keep your doctor, and keep your plan?
We now know that all of those promises have been broken.
Obamacare is collapsing --- and we must act decisively to protect
all Americans. Action is not a choice --- it is a necessity.
So I am calling on all Democrats and Republicans in the Congress to
work with us to save Americans from this imploding Obamacare disaster.
Here are the principles that should guide the Congress as we move to create a better healthcare system for all Americans:
First, we should ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions
have access to coverage, and that we have a stable transition for
Americans currently enrolled in the healthcare exchanges.
Secondly, we should help Americans purchase their own coverage,
through the use of tax credits and expanded Health Savings Accounts ---
but it must be the plan they want, not the plan forced on them by the
Government.
Thirdly, we should
give our great State Governors the resources and flexibility they need
with Medicaid to make sure no one is left out.
Fourthly, we should implement legal reforms that protect patients
and doctors from unnecessary costs that drive up the price of insurance
-- and work to bring down the artificially high price of drugs and bring
them down immediately.
Finally, the time has come to give Americans the freedom to purchase
health insurance across State lines --- creating a truly competitive
national marketplace that will bring cost way down and provide far
better care.
Everything that
is broken in our country can be fixed. Every problem can be solved.
And every hurting family can find healing, and hope.
Our citizens deserve this, and so much more --- so why not join
forces to finally get it done? On this and so many other things,
Democrats and Republicans should get together and unite for the good of
our country, and for the good of the American people.
My administration wants to work with members in both parties to
make childcare accessible and affordable, to help ensure new parents
have paid family leave, to invest in women's health, and to promote
clean air and clear water, and to rebuild our military and our
infrastructure.
True love for
our people requires us to find common ground, to advance the common
good, and to cooperate on behalf of every American child who deserves a
brighter future.
An incredible young woman is with us this evening who should serve as an inspiration to us all.
Today is Rare Disease day, and joining us in the gallery is a Rare
Disease Survivor, Megan Crowley. Megan was diagnosed with Pompe
Disease, a rare and serious illness, when she was 15 months old. She
was not expected to live past 5.
On receiving this news, Megan's dad, John, fought with everything he
had to save the life of his precious child. He founded a company to
look for a cure, and helped develop the drug that saved Megan's life.
Today she is 20 years old -- and a sophomore at Notre Dame.
Megan's story is about the unbounded power of a father's love for a daughter.
But our slow and burdensome approval process at the Food and Drug
Administration keeps too many advances, like the one that saved Megan's
life, from reaching those in need.
If we slash the restraints, not just at the FDA but across our
Government, then we will be blessed with far more miracles like Megan.
In fact, our children will grow up in a Nation of miracles.
But to achieve this future, we must enrich the mind --- and the souls --- of every American child.
Education is the civil rights issue of our time.
I am calling upon Members of both parties to pass an education bill
that funds school choice for disadvantaged youth, including millions of
African-American and Latino children. These families should be free to
choose the public, private, charter, magnet, religious or home school
that is right for them.
Joining us tonight in the gallery is a remarkable woman, Denisha
Merriweather. As a young girl, Denisha struggled in school and failed
third grade twice. But then she was able to enroll in a private center
for learning, with the help of a tax credit scholarship program. Today,
she is the first in her family to graduate, not just from high school,
but from college. Later this year she will get her masters degree in
social work.
We want all children to be able to break the cycle of poverty just like Denisha.
But to break the cycle of poverty, we must also break the cycle of violence.
The murder rate in 2015 experienced its largest single-year increase in nearly half a century.
In Chicago, more than 4,000 people were shot last year alone --- and the murder rate so far this year has been even higher.
This is not acceptable in our society.
Every American child should be able to grow up in a safe community,
to attend a great school, and to have access to a high-paying job.
But to create this future, we must work with --- not against --- the men and women of law enforcement.
We must build bridges of cooperation and trust --- not drive the wedge of disunity and division.
Police and sheriffs are members of our community. They are friends
and neighbors, they are mothers and fathers, sons and daughters -- and
they leave behind loved ones every day who worry whether or not they'll
come home safe and sound.
We must support the incredible men and women of law enforcement.
And we must support the victims of crime.
I have ordered the Department of Homeland Security to create an
office to serve American Victims. The office is called VOICE ---
Victims Of Immigration Crime Engagement. We are providing a voice to
those who have been ignored by our media, and silenced by special
interests.
Joining us in the audience tonight are four very brave Americans whose government failed them.
Their names are Jamiel Shaw, Susan Oliver, Jenna Oliver, and Jessica Davis.
Jamiel's 17-year-old son was viciously murdered by an illegal
immigrant gang member, who had just been released from prison. Jamiel
Shaw Jr. was an incredible young man, with unlimited potential who was
getting ready to go to college where he would have excelled as a great
quarterback. But he never got the chance. His father, who is in the
audience tonight, has become a good friend of mine.
Also with us are Susan Oliver and Jessica Davis. Their husbands
--- Deputy Sheriff Danny Oliver and Detective Michael Davis --- were
slain in the line of duty in California. They were pillars of their
community. These brave men were viciously gunned down by an illegal
immigrant with a criminal record and two prior deportations.
Sitting with Susan is her daughter, Jenna. Jenna: I want you to
know that your father was a hero, and that tonight you have the love of
an entire country supporting you and praying for you.
To Jamiel, Jenna, Susan and Jessica: I want you to know --- we
will never stop fighting for justice. Your loved ones will never be
forgotten, we will always honor their memory.
Finally, to keep America Safe we must provide the men and women of
the United States military with the tools they need to prevent war and
--- if they must --- to fight and to win.
I am sending the Congress a budget that rebuilds the military,
eliminates the Defense sequester, and calls for one of the largest
increases in national defense spending in American history.
My budget will also increase funding for our veterans.
Our veterans have delivered for this Nation --- and now we must deliver for them.
The challenges we face as a Nation are great. But our people are even greater.
And none are greater or braver than those who fight for America in uniform.
We are blessed to be joined tonight by Carryn Owens, the widow of a
U.S. Navy Special Operator, Senior Chief William "Ryan" Owens. Ryan
died as he lived: a warrior, and a hero --- battling against terrorism
and securing our Nation.
I
just spoke to General Mattis, who reconfirmed that, and I quote, "Ryan
was a part of a highly successful raid that generated large amounts of
vital intelligence that will lead to many more victories in the future
against our enemies." Ryan's legacy is etched into eternity. For as
the Bible teaches us, there is no greater act of love than to lay down
one's life for one's friends. Ryan laid down his life for his friends,
for his country, and for our freedom --- we will never forget him.
To those allies who wonder what kind of friend America will be, look no further than the heroes who wear our uniform.
Our foreign policy calls for a direct, robust and meaningful
engagement with the world. It is American leadership based on vital
security interests that we share with our allies across the globe.
We strongly support NATO, an alliance forged through the bonds of
two World Wars that dethroned fascism, and a Cold War that defeated
communism.
But our partners must meet their financial obligations.
And now, based on our very strong and frank discussions, they are beginning to do just that.
We expect our partners, whether in NATO, in the Middle East, or the
Pacific --- to take a direct and meaningful role in both strategic and
military operations, and pay their fair share of the cost.
We will respect historic institutions, but we will also respect the sovereign rights of nations.
Free nations are the best vehicle for expressing the will of the
people --- and America respects the right of all nations to chart their
own path. My job is not to represent the world. My job is to represent
the United States of America. But we know that America is better off,
when there is less conflict -- not more.
We must learn from the mistakes of the past --- we have seen the war and destruction that have raged across our world.
The only long-term solution for these humanitarian disasters is to
create the conditions where displaced persons can safely return home and
begin the long process of rebuilding.
America is willing to find new friends, and to forge new
partnerships, where shared interests align. We want harmony and
stability, not war and conflict.
We want peace, wherever peace can be found. America is friends today
with former enemies. Some of our closest allies, decades ago, fought
on the opposite side of these World Wars. This history should give us
all faith in the possibilities for a better world.
Hopefully, the 250th year for America will see a world that is more peaceful, more just and more free.
On our 100th anniversary, in 1876, citizens from across our Nation
came to Philadelphia to celebrate America's centennial. At that
celebration, the country's builders and artists and inventors showed off
their creations.
Alexander Graham Bell displayed his telephone for the first time.
Remington unveiled the first typewriter. An early attempt was made at electric light.
Thomas Edison showed an automatic telegraph and an electric pen.
Imagine the wonders our country could know in America's 250th year.
Think of the marvels we can achieve if we simply set free the dreams of our people.
Cures to illnesses that have always plagued us are not too much to hope.
American footprints on distant worlds are not too big a dream.
Millions lifted from welfare to work is not too much to expect.
And streets where mothers are safe from fear -- schools where
children learn in peace -- and jobs where Americans prosper and grow --
are not too much to ask.
When we have all of this, we will have made America greater than ever before. For all Americans.
This is our vision. This is our mission.
But we can only get there together.
We are one people, with one destiny.
We all bleed the same blood.
We all salute the same flag.
And we are all made by the same God.
And when we fulfill this vision; when we celebrate our 250 years of
glorious freedom, we will look back on tonight as when this new chapter
of American Greatness began.
The time for small thinking is over. The time for trivial fights is behind us.
We just need the courage to share the dreams that fill our hearts.
The bravery to express the hopes that stir our souls.
And the confidence to turn those hopes and dreams to action.
From now on, America will be empowered by our aspirations, not burdened by our fears ---
inspired by the future, not bound by the failures of the past ---
and guided by our vision, not blinded by our doubts.
I am asking all citizens to embrace this Renewal of the American
Spirit. I am asking all members of Congress to join me in dreaming big,
and bold and daring things for our country. And I am asking everyone
watching tonight to seize this moment and --
Believe in yourselves.
Believe in your future.
And believe, once more, in America.
Thank you, God bless you, and God Bless these United States.
February 27, 2017
Floats mock president
Donald Trump rapes Statue of Liberty at German Carnival
Political
messages are a tradition in German Carnival parades. This year, the
city of Düsseldorf has a special one for Donald Trump: On one float, the
President is seen raping the Statue of Liberty. On another one, Lady
Liberty is beheading Trump. The slogan painted on her chest: "America,
Resist!"
The Statue is smiling victoriously, holding up the President's separated head, the constitution in her other hand. Both floats followed one another in Düsseldorf's Carnival parade this Monday, telling a story for the spectators: The constitution is under attack - and retaliates. Crowds were cheering when both floats were displayed.
Donald Trump will not attend White House correspondents' dinner
Donald Trump
on Saturday capped a week of tumultuous relations with the press by
saying he will not attend this year’s White House correspondents’
dinner, which is scheduled for 29 April.
“I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year,” the president wrote on Twitter. “Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!” The news came as relations between the Trump administration and the news media, which he has called “the enemy of the American people”, have sunk to new lows. On Friday, leading outlets including the New York Times, CNN and the Guardian were excluded from a briefing by press secretary Sean Spicer while friendlier conservative organisations were admitted. Editors of excluded organisations expressed anger, although White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) president Jeff Mason, of Reuters, attempted to calm troubled waters. In a statement on Saturday, Mason said the WHCA “looks forward to having its annual dinner” and added: “The WHCA takes note of President Donald Trump’s announcement on Twitter that he does not plan to attend the dinner, which has been and will continue to be a celebration of the first amendment and the important role played by an independent news media in a healthy republic. “We look forward to shining a spotlight at the dinner on some of the best political journalism of the past year and recognizing the promising students who represent the next generation of our profession.”
Trump has recently reacted angrily to a series of reports citing anonymous sources in the White House, law enforcement and intelligence agencies about chaos in his administration, alleged contacts between campaign staff and Russian agents, and White House attempts to rebut such reports.
“I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year,” the president wrote on Twitter. “Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!” The news came as relations between the Trump administration and the news media, which he has called “the enemy of the American people”, have sunk to new lows. On Friday, leading outlets including the New York Times, CNN and the Guardian were excluded from a briefing by press secretary Sean Spicer while friendlier conservative organisations were admitted. Editors of excluded organisations expressed anger, although White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) president Jeff Mason, of Reuters, attempted to calm troubled waters. In a statement on Saturday, Mason said the WHCA “looks forward to having its annual dinner” and added: “The WHCA takes note of President Donald Trump’s announcement on Twitter that he does not plan to attend the dinner, which has been and will continue to be a celebration of the first amendment and the important role played by an independent news media in a healthy republic. “We look forward to shining a spotlight at the dinner on some of the best political journalism of the past year and recognizing the promising students who represent the next generation of our profession.”
Trump has recently reacted angrily to a series of reports citing anonymous sources in the White House, law enforcement and intelligence agencies about chaos in his administration, alleged contacts between campaign staff and Russian agents, and White House attempts to rebut such reports.
This week Bloomberg
followed Vanity Fair and the New Yorker in saying it would not host a
party tied to the dinner. The New York Times has not attended the event
since 2008; the Guardian will not attend this year. This week, Buzzfeed reported that another favourite target of Trump’s, CNN, was considering pulling out as well.
Trump followed a familiar path on Friday night, when he wrote on Twitter: “FAKE NEWS media knowingly doesn’t tell the truth. A great danger to our country. The failing @nytimes has become a joke. Likewise @CNN. Sad!”
Many observers have linked Trump’s run for the presidency with events at the 2011 correspondents’ dinner, in which Barack Obama ridiculed the businessman, who was in attendance, over his championing of the so-called “birther” movement.
The dinner is a traditionally lighthearted affair, celebrities mixing with journalists at tables and comedians “roasting” the president of the day, as Stephen Colbert did to George W Bush in an infamous speech from 2006. The president traditionally speaks as well.The first dinner was held in 1921 and Calvin Coolidge was the first president to attend, in 1924. Since then every president has attended the dinner at least once.
Ronald Reagan did not attend in 1981 – after being shot – and Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon did not always sit down for dinner. Obama attended all eight events while he was in office.According to the History Channel the dinner has been cancelled three times: following the death of former president William Howard Taft, in 1930, after the US entry into the second world war in 1942, and in 1951, during the Korean war.In January, Trump skipped the Alfalfa Club dinner, another key event in the social calendar of a city in which the president is happy to pose as an outsider.Rob Mahoney, deputy executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, told the Guardian on Saturday Trump should “act as a champion of press freedom” around the world, rather than attacking the media in a way that could “send a signal to other countries that it is OK to verbally abuse journalists and undermine their credibility”. In a statement, Guardian US editor Lee Glendinning said the exclusion of news outlets from Friday’s briefing was “deeply troubling and divisive” and added: “Holding power to account is an essential part of the democratic process, and that’s exactly what the Guardian will continue to do.”
Trump followed a familiar path on Friday night, when he wrote on Twitter: “FAKE NEWS media knowingly doesn’t tell the truth. A great danger to our country. The failing @nytimes has become a joke. Likewise @CNN. Sad!”
Many observers have linked Trump’s run for the presidency with events at the 2011 correspondents’ dinner, in which Barack Obama ridiculed the businessman, who was in attendance, over his championing of the so-called “birther” movement.
The dinner is a traditionally lighthearted affair, celebrities mixing with journalists at tables and comedians “roasting” the president of the day, as Stephen Colbert did to George W Bush in an infamous speech from 2006. The president traditionally speaks as well.The first dinner was held in 1921 and Calvin Coolidge was the first president to attend, in 1924. Since then every president has attended the dinner at least once.
Ronald Reagan did not attend in 1981 – after being shot – and Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon did not always sit down for dinner. Obama attended all eight events while he was in office.According to the History Channel the dinner has been cancelled three times: following the death of former president William Howard Taft, in 1930, after the US entry into the second world war in 1942, and in 1951, during the Korean war.In January, Trump skipped the Alfalfa Club dinner, another key event in the social calendar of a city in which the president is happy to pose as an outsider.Rob Mahoney, deputy executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, told the Guardian on Saturday Trump should “act as a champion of press freedom” around the world, rather than attacking the media in a way that could “send a signal to other countries that it is OK to verbally abuse journalists and undermine their credibility”. In a statement, Guardian US editor Lee Glendinning said the exclusion of news outlets from Friday’s briefing was “deeply troubling and divisive” and added: “Holding power to account is an essential part of the democratic process, and that’s exactly what the Guardian will continue to do.”
Since you’re here …
…
we’ve got a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Guardian
than ever, but far fewer are paying for it. Advertising revenues across
the media are falling fast. And unlike some other news organisations, we
haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism open to all.
So you can see why we need to ask for your help. The Guardian’s
independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and
hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective
matters – because it might well be your perspective, too.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps to support it, our future would be much more secure.
From an Anchor’s Lips to Trump’s Ears to Sweden’s Disbelief
PALM
BEACH, Fla. — On Friday night, Fox News aired an alarming six-minute
segment in which the host, Tucker Carlson, interviewed a documentary
filmmaker about a crisis of violence in Sweden ignited by the recent wave of Muslim migration.
“The government has gone out of its way to try to cover up some of these problems,” declared Ami Horowitz, the filmmaker.
“That is grotesque,” Mr. Carlson responded.
One
of his viewers agreed, and in that moment was born a diplomatic
incident that illustrates the unusual approach that President Trump
takes to foreign policy, as well as the influence that television can
have on his thinking. After watching the program, Mr. Trump threw a line
into a speech the next day suggesting that a terrorist attack had
occurred in Sweden the night before.
Just
like that, without white papers, intelligence reports, an interagency
meeting or, presumably, the advice of his secretary of state, the
president started a dispute with a longtime American friend that
resented his characterization and called it false. The president’s only
discernible goal was to make the case domestically for his plans to
restrict entry to the United States.
The Swedes were flabbergasted.
“We
are used to seeing the president of the U.S. as one of the most
well-informed persons in the world, also well aware of the importance of
what he says,” Carl Bildt, a former prime minister of Sweden, said by
email on Monday. “And then, suddenly, we see him engaging in
misinformation and slander against a truly friendly country, obviously
relying on sources of a quality that at best could be described as
dubious.”
While
aides sought to clarify that Mr. Trump’s remarks were about a rising
tide of crime in general, rather than any particular event or attack,
the president chose to escalate. In a Twitter post on Monday, he accused
American journalists of glossing over a dark and dangerous situation in
Sweden. “Give the public a break,” he wrote. “The FAKE NEWS media is trying to say that large scale immigration in Sweden is working out just beautifully. NOT!”
Sweden’s
prime minister, Stefan Lofven, responded hours later at a news
conference, noting that Sweden ranks highly on international comparisons
of economic competitiveness and human development.
“We
have challenges, no doubt about that,” he allowed. But he added
pointedly, “We must all take responsibility for using facts correctly
and for verifying anything we spread.”
Sweden
is hardly the first American friend to find itself uncomfortably at
odds with the new president. Mexico’s president canceled a meeting with
Mr. Trump over his plans to build a border wall and bill the United
States’ southern neighbor for it. Mr. Trump reportedly lit into
Australia’s prime minister over refugees in a telephone call that was
said to have ended abruptly.
But
the episode underscored that Mr. Trump obtains, processes and uses
information differently from any modern president. He watches television
at night and tends to incorporate what he sees into his Twitter feed,
speeches and interviews.
“It
begs the question of where the president gets his information as he
articulates his administration’s global approach,” said Mark Brzezinski,
the ambassador to Sweden under President Barack Obama. “To do so in an
improvisational way, based on snippets picked up from cable news, is a
major mistake.”
Immigration
is a hotly debated issue in Sweden, Germany and many other European
countries. Sweden, which prides itself as a humanitarian leader,
processed a record 163,000 asylum applications in 2015. But statistics
in Sweden do not back up the suggestion that immigrants have created a
major crime wave.
Preliminary
data released last month by Sweden’s crime prevention council found no
significant increase in crimes from 2015 to 2016, even with the influx
of migrants. The council did note an increase in assaults and rapes last
year, but it also recorded a drop in thefts and drug offenses. Still, a
Pew Research Center survey last year found that 46 percent of Swedes
said refugees were more to blame for crime than other groups.
Manne
Gerell, a doctoral student in criminology at Malmo University in
Sweden, said in an interview that immigrants were disproportionately
represented among crime suspects, particularly in more serious and
violent offenses. But he noted that many of the victims were other
immigrants, whether members of criminal networks or simply residents of
poor neighborhoods.
“Immigration
will come with some cost, and we will likely have a bit more crime —
but that’s in a society with low crime rates and in a society that works
really well, so in my opinion, it’s something we can live with,” he
said. “I know everybody won’t agree with that. But immigration will not
double the crime rate, make everybody go broke or turn Sweden into a
living hell.”
Although terrorism is a concern for Sweden — an Iraqi-born Swede blew himself up in central Stockholm in 2010 — the authorities say they are equally worried about racist hate crimes, including attacks on migrants.
The
Fox News segment featured an interview with Mr. Horowitz, whose short
film, “Stockholm Syndrome,” depicted Sweden as a place where rape and
violence have been on the rise since it began accepting more refugees
from Muslim countries.
In
the Fox interview, Mr. Horowitz acknowledged that most Swedes do not
see the situation as he does. “They’ll make excuses for it,” he said.
“The majority of the population in Sweden still wants to have an
open-door policy. It’s confounding.”
Mr. Trump was clearly struck by the interview, and he cited Sweden at a rally in Melbourne, Fla.,
on Saturday as he argued for stronger borders. “You look at what’s
happening last night in Sweden,” he said. “Sweden! Who would believe
this? Sweden. They took in large numbers. They’re having problems like
they never thought possible.”
Aides later said “last night” referred to the Fox program, not to an episode the night before. Mr. Carlson argued on Monday that although “the president ought to be precise in what he says, there should be no confusion about what he means.”
Mr.
Carlson said that assimilation had failed and that immigration was “in
the process of totally changing these ancient cultures into something
different and much more volatile and much more threatening.”
Critics
of Sweden’s migration policies have pointed to a Facebook post on Feb. 3
by a police officer, Peter Springare, who said that migrants were
taxing Sweden’s pension, education and health systems and that they were
the principal culprits in assaults. “Half of the suspects we cannot
even be sure of because they don’t have any valid papers,” he wrote.
“Most often this means they are lying about their country of origin and
identity.”
But the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter on Monday quoted
two police officers interviewed by Mr. Horowitz, Anders Goranzon and
Jacob Ekstrom, as saying that the filmmaker had selectively edited and
distorted their comments to prove his thesis. They said that Mr.
Horowitz had asked them about high-crime neighborhoods and that they did
not agree with his argument about links between migration and crime.
“We don’t stand behind what he says,” Mr. Goranzon said. “He is a
madman.”
Mr.
Horowitz did not respond to a request for comment, but he went back on
Mr. Carlson’s show on Monday night to defend his work, citing crime
statistics and asserting that the police officers had recanted because
they were under pressure. “My record stands for itself,” he said, “and
what you saw on that video clear as day stands for itself.”
Betty MacDonald fan club fans,
we share a very special gift by beloved and very popular Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honor member Letizia Mancino.
We know you'll enjoy it as much as we do.
Thanks a Million, dear Letizia Mancino.
You are an outstanding writer and artist.
We are so proud and happy to have you with us.
Letizia writes: One should not underestimate Wolfgang Hampel’s talent in speedily mobilizing Betty MacDonald’s friends.
We agree. Thank you so much dear Wolfgang Hampel for doing this. You founded Betty MacDonald Fan Club with four members.
Now we have members in 40 countries around the world. A dream came true.
Mary Holmes did an excellent job in translating this great story.
Thank you so much dear Mary Holmes.
We are really very grateful.
All the best to Letizia, Wolfgang and Mary and to all Betty MacDonald Fan Club fans from all over the world!
Lenard
Following in Betty’s footsteps in Seattle:
or some small talk with Betty
Copyright 2011/2016 by Letizia Mancino
All rights reserved
translated by Mary Holmes
We were going to Canada in the summer. “When we are in Edmonton”, I said to Christoph Cremer, “let’s make a quick trip to Seattle”. And that’s how it happened. At Edmonton Airport we climbed into a plane and two hours later we landed in the city where Betty had lived. I was so happy to be in Seattle at last and to be able to trace Betty’s tracks!
Wolfgang Hampel had told Betty’s friends about our arrival.
They were happy to plan a small marathon through the town and it’s surroundings with us. We only had a few days free. One should not underestimate Wolfgang’s talent in speedily mobilizing Betty’s friends, even though it was holiday time. E-mails flew backwards and forwards between Heidelberg and Seattle, and soon a well prepared itinerary was ready for us. Shortly before my departure Wolfgang handed me several parcels, presents for Betty MacDonald's friends. I rushed to pack the heavy gifts in my luggage but because of the extra weight had to throw out a pair of pajamas!
After we had landed we took a taxi to the Hotel in downtown Seattle. I was so curious to see everything. I turned my head in all directions like one of the hungry hens from Betty’s farm searching for food! Fortunately it was quite a short journey otherwise I would have lost my head like a loose screw!
Our hotel room was on the 22nd floor and looked directly out onto the 16-lane highway. There might have been even more than 16 but it made me too giddy to count! It was like a glimpse of hell! “And is this Seattle?” I asked myself. I was horrified! The cars racing by were enough to drive one mad. The traffic roared by day and night.
We immediately contacted Betty MacDonald's friends and let them know we had arrived and they confirmed the times when we should see them.
On the next morning I planned my first excursion tracing Betty’s tracks. I spread out the map of Seattle. “Oh dear” I realized “the Olympic Peninsula is much too far away for me to get there.”
Betty nodded to me! “Very difficult, Letizia, without a car.”
“But I so much wanted to see your chicken farm”
“My chickens are no longer there and you can admire the mountains from a distance”
But I wanted to go there. I left the hotel and walked to the waterfront where the State Ferry terminal is. Mamma mia, the streets in Seattle are so steep! I couldn’t prevent my feet from running down the hill. Why hadn’t I asked for brakes to be fixed on my shoes? I looked at the drivers. How incredibly good they must be to accelerate away from the red traffic lights. The people were walking uphill towards me as briskly as agile salmon. Good heavens, these Americans! I tried to keep my balance. The force of gravity is relentless. I grasped hold of objects where I could and staggered down.
In Canada a friend had warned me that in Seattle I would see a lot of people with crutches.
Betty laughed. “ It’s not surprising, Letizia, walking salmon don’t fall directly into the soft mouth of a bear!”
“ Betty, stop making these gruesome remarks. We are not in Firlands!”
I went further. Like a small deranged ant at the foot of a palace monster I came to a tunnel. The noise was unbearable. On the motorway, “The Alaskan Way Viaduct”, cars, busses and trucks were driving at the speed of light right over my head. They puffed out their poisonous gas into the open balconies and cultivated terraces of the luxurious sky- scrapers without a thought in the world. America! You are crazy!
“Betty, are all people in Seattle deaf? Or is it perhaps a privilege for wealthy people to be able to enjoy having cars so near to their eyes and noses to save them from boredom?”
“When the fog democratically allows everything to disappear into nothing, it makes a bit of a change, Letizia”
“ Your irony is incorrigible, Betty, but tell me, Seattle is meant to be a beautiful city, But where?”
I had at last reached the State Ferry terminal.
“No Madam, the ferry for Vashon Island doesn’t start from here,” one of the men in the ticket office tells me. ”Take a buss and go to the ferry terminal in West Seattle.”
Betty explained to me “The island lies in Puget Sound and not in Elliott Bay! It is opposite the airport. You must have seen it when you were landing!”
“Betty, when I am landing I shut my eyes and pray!”
It’s time for lunch. The weather is beautiful and warm. Who said to me that it always rains here?
“Sure to be some envious man who wanted to frighten you away from coming to Seattle. The city is really beautiful, you’ll see. Stay by the waterfront, choose the best restaurant with a view of Elliott Bay and enjoy it.”
“Thank you Betty!”
I find a table on the terrace of “Elliott’s Oyster House”. The view of the island is wonderful. It lies quietly in the sun like a green fleecy cushion on the blue water.
Betty plays with my words:
“Vashon Island is a big cushion, even bigger than Bainbridge which you see in front of your eyes, Letizia. The islands look similar. They have well kept houses and beautiful gardens”.
I relax during this introduction, “Bainbridge” you are Vashon Island, and order a mineral water.
“At one time the hotel belonging to the parents of Monica Sone stood on the waterfront.”
“Oh, of your friend Kimi!” Unfortunately I forget to ask Betty exactly where it was.
My mind wanders and I think of my mountain hike back to the hotel! “Why is there no donkey for tourists?” Betty laughs:
“I’m sure you can walk back to the hotel. “Letizia can do everything.””
“Yes, Betty, I am my own donkey!”
But I don’t remember that San Francisco is so steep. It doesn’t matter, I sit and wait. The waiter comes and brings me the menu. I almost fall off my chair!
“ What, you have geoduck on the menu! I have to try it” (I confess I hate the look of geoduck meat. Betty’s recipe with the pieces made me feel quite sick – I must try Betty’s favourite dish!)
“Proof that you love me!” said Betty enthusiastically “ Isn’t the way to the heart through the stomach?”
I order the geoduck. The waiter looks at me. He would have liked to recommend oysters.
“Geoduck no good for you!”
Had he perhaps read my deepest thoughts? Fate! Then no geoduck. “No good for me.”
“Neither geoduck nor tuberculosis in Seattle” whispered Betty in my ear!
“Oh Betty, my best friend, you take such good care of me!”
I order salmon with salad.
“Which salmon? Those that swim in water or those that run through Seattle?”
“Betty, I believe you want me to have a taste of your black humour.”
“Enjoy it then, Letizia.”
During lunch we talked about tuberculosis, and that quite spoilt our appetite.
“Have you read my book “The Plague and I”?”
“Oh Betty, I’ve started to read it twice but both times I felt so sad I had to stop again!”
“But why?” asked Betty “Nearly everybody has tuberculosis! I recovered very quickly and put on 20 pounds! There was no talk of me wasting away! What did you think of my jokes in the book?”
“Those would have been a good reason for choosing another sanitorium. I would have been afraid of becoming a victim of your humour! You would have certainly given me a nickname! You always thought up such amusing names!” Betty laughed.
“You’re right. I would have called you “Roman nose”. I would have said to Urbi and Orbi “ Early this morning “Roman nose” was brought here. She speaks broken English, doesn’t eat geoduck but she does love cats.”
“Oh Betty, I would have felt so ashamed to cough. To cough in your presence, how embarrassing! You would have talked about how I coughed, how many coughs!”
“It depends on that “how”, Letizia!”
“Please, leave Goethe quotations out of it. You have certainly learnt from the Indians how to differentiate between noises. It’s incredible how you can distinguish between so many sorts of cough! At least 10!”
“So few?”
”And also your descriptions of the patients and the nurses were pitiless. An artistic revenge! The smallest pimple on their face didn’t escape your notice! Amazing.”
“ I was also pitiless to myself. Don’t forget my irony against myself!”
Betty was silent. She was thinking about Kimi, the “Princess” from Japan! No, she had only written good things about her best friend, Monica Sone, in her book “The Plague and I”. A deep friendship had started in the hospital. The pearl that developed from the illness.
“Isn’t it wonderful, Betty, that an unknown seed can make its way into a mollusk in the sea and develop into a beautiful jewel?” Betty is paying attention.
“Betty, the friendship between you and Monica reminds me of Goethe’s poem “Gingo-Biloba”. You must know it?” Betty nods and I begin to recite it:
The leaf of this Eastern tree
Which has been entrusted to my garden
Offers a feast of secret significance,
For the edification of the initiate.
Is it one living thing.
That has become divided within itself?
Are these two who have chosen each other,
So that we know them as one?
The friendship with Monica is like the wonderful gingo-biloba leaf, the tree from the east. Betty was touched. There was a deep feeling of trust between us.
“Our friendship never broke up, partly because she was in distress, endangered by the deadly illness. We understood and supplemented each other. We were like one lung with two lobes, one from the east and one from the west!”
“A beautiful picture, Betty. You were like two red gingo-biloba leaves!”
Betty was sad and said ” Monica, although Japanese, before she really knew me felt she was also an American. But she was interned in America, Letizia, during the second world war. Isn’t that terrible?”
“Betty, I never knew her personally. I have only seen her on a video, but what dignity in her face, and she speaks and moves so gracefully!”
“Fate could not change her”
“Yes, Betty, like the gingo-biloba tree in Hiroshima. It was the only tree that blossomed again after the atom bomb!”
The bill came and I paid at once. In America one is urged away from the table when one has finished eating. If one wants to go on chatting one has to order something else.
“That’s why all those people gossiping at the tables are so fat!” Betty remarks. “Haven’t you seen how many massively obese people walk around in the streets of America. Like dustbins that have never been emptied!” With this typically unsentimental remark Betty ended our conversation.
Ciao! I so enjoyed the talk; the humour, the irony and the empathy. I waved to her and now I too felt like moving! I take a lovely walk along the waterfront.
Now I am back in Heidelberg and when I think about how Betty’s “Princessin” left this world on September 5th and that in August I was speaking about her with Betty in Seattle I feel very sad. The readers who knew her well (we feel that every author and hero of a book is nearer to us than our fleeting neighbours next door) yes we, who thought of her as immortal, cannot believe that even she would die after 92 years. How unforeseen and unexpected that her death should come four days after her birthday on September 1th. On September 5th I was on my way to Turkey, once again in seventh heaven, looking back on the unforgettable days in Seattle. I was flying from west to east towards the rising sun.
Is this Mr. Tigerli?
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