Tag: politics

An Event with Ron Wynden

I am ashamed to say that I didn’t know anything about the book “It Takes Chutzpah” until I saw the advertisement for the library event. And I should be even more ashamed that I didn’t know who Senator Wyden was.

The only reason I made a note about this event was the mention of Governor Pritzker being a part of this conversation. I checked out what this book was about, asserting the topic and the fact that the Governor thought it’s worth reading prompted me to get a book and mark my calendar.

I put aside the book I was listening to at that time, and started to listen to the Senator Wyden ‘s book. When I learned which initiatives and legistlations he championed, I became really ashamed, and thought that my knowledge of the Senators is tilted towards the Midwest :).

I came to the library about 30 minutes before the event start, and there was a line (these events are not ticketed).

When they let us in, I hurried up to get the good seat. What I should have done was to get a copy of that book in the hallway by the auditorium, but it didn’t occur to me that they could bo sold out – which happened to be the case! I didn’t need the paper book for myself, but since I already read it, I thought that I wanted Igor to have it, especially when I could get a signed copy.

The event was livestreamed, and if you have 40 minutes to spare, I think it’s totally worth it.

As for the books, a person right before me in the line, got the last copy! For me and everyone behind in in the line, they offered an option to sign an insert which they will paste into the book when it will arrive, so I hope to have one which I signed for Igor in a week or so.

Also, you know how I always ruin the photos having my eyes closed?! This time, when they took a photo of me with the Senator, I was OK, but his eyes were closed!!! No luck!

We Will Always Be Knox!

Learning that Governor Pritzker was chosen as a Knox Commencement Speaker was terrific! In general, news from Knox these days sounds very encouraging. With so many colleges bending to Trump’s ultimatums, it’s great to see those that stand their ground.

Also, the header of the Knox website page is more meaningful than ever: When history calls, be prepared to answer.

I really want to make a day trip to Galesburg on June 8 and listen to the Governor’s speech!

Copying the announcement from the Knox website here.

Continue reading “We Will Always Be Knox!” →

Igor’s Photos From The April 5 Protest

And More From the Hands Off Rally

I don’t know what it tells about Annd and me, but we thought going to the protest after the Children’s concert in the CSO was a great idea, and so we did. And there were a lot of other parents who brought their children of all ages to the rally, so at least in this part of our plan, we were not an exception.

While we were at the rally, Igor mentioned that the number of participants was estimated to be about 30 K. This is not as massive as the anti-Trump rallies eight years ago, but it is still a good step in the right direction.

On the way to Daley Plaza
Continue reading “And More From the Hands Off Rally” →

Today’s Rally

I will post my pics shortly – most of mine are different!

What I Saw of Chicago’s “Hands Off” Rally

This Week’s Events

I didn’t post it on Wednesday, but as usual, better late than never. Here in Chicagoland, the suburban elections demonstrated the reverse of the course in comparison with the November elections. Even being a Blue State as we are, the November election results shifted in favor of Republicans, which looked like a concerning trend. However, last Tuesday, we witnessed the opposite shift. We also saw very close margins in Florida elections, even when they were not won by Democratic candidates, so once again, things start to change.

Obviously, the highlight of the week was Susan Crawford’s election. Her victory is important not only as a victory of a democratic candidate in a swing state but also as a victory of people over money. We always knew that even though fundraising is important, votes are cast by people, not dollars. Susan Crawford’s victory proves exactly that.

On Immigration

Shortly after the elections, I published a blog post about one of Time Magazine’s articles on immigration. In that post, I mentioned my Venezuelan co-worker who “didn’t want them here.”

It took just two months of Trump’s presidency for her position to alter in a most drastic way. Now, each time we go for lunch, she tells me what a horrible person Trump is to deport people when “maybe ten out of two hundred are criminals, and the others are honest hard-working people.” Now she sees for herself the impact of all Trump’s policies on economics and on people’s well-being in general, and she is asking me whether Democrats will be able “to put everything back” or some irreversible damage is already done.

And while I would prefer these revelations to come before, not after the fact, I hope she is one of many.

Protests Are On The Rise

I think the most significant factor contributing to the increasing number of Trump/Musk protests around the country is the Congresspersons’ meetings with their constituents in mid-March. From what I hear, the rallies affected both Democratic and Republican Representatives. I remember what Anna used to tell me during the time she worked at Melissa Bean’s campaign, and it looks like Representatives have nothing to lose… I am not implying that the protests are organized by elected officials – I’ve organized enough and participated enough to know. However, I think these townhalls helped people feel they still have power.

When I saw Titanique, I was surprised to hear a political satire with direct references to current events, which I hadn’t heard for a while. Then the messages about the upcoming National Hands Off Day started to arrive from multiple sources. That gave me hope that the April 5 protests will be massive. We have just six days to wait and see.

I will keep making people aware of protests, because I know what a difference in numbers this can make. And yes, there is a little bit of that thought: why did I wait for somebody to start organizing?! Don’t I know how this works? I know well that I didn’t have any organizational capacity in the past two weeks because I was fighting my own battles, but retrospectively, I still feel like I could be more active.

That’s for those who are in Chicago. For those who are not, there are multiple events on the same day and time all over the country – find the closest to you. Things are happening.

Shostakovich’s 11th

It was definitely not the first time I heard Shostakovich’s 11th Symphony, but I guess it has been a while. Or it’s just how it feels these days. Usually, I leave the CSO uplifted, with the general feeling that “life is not so bad,” but the 11th Symphony left me feeling hopeless, especially the finale. Too many cultural references, plus too many parallels with today’s situations (more than one). After the last accord, when the audience exploded with applause, I felt almost insulted by this sound: how could anybody applause after hearing that?!

There was one interesting episode at DevOps Day. I met one person at the beginning of the day (he was a partner of one of the speakers). He approached me later in the day, asking my opinion about some abstract situation (and he told me that he was constructing this situation based on the previous responder’s feedback). After several clarifying questions, I finally realized which moral dilemma he was trying to solve. I told him: you do not need to ask me about the hypothetical situation; I have been in a similar situation for the past three years. And I hate myself for not doing enough years before. I hate myself for not doing enough now, for having my spoon being too small to scoop the water out before the people drown. And I feel guilty for “living a life” and worrying about a million non-critical things while some seriously evil things are happening all over the world…

At the end of our conversation, that person thanked me for sharing my opinion and said that he was sure I would have something to say. I asked him why he was so sure, and he said that he listened to my talk and knew I had opinions.

I don’t know why I feel this conversation is related to Shostakovich’s 11th, but somehow, in my mind, it is!

A Turnaway Play

Tuesday was the day of the DevOps conference, and after it was over, I went to one more event: a staged reading of the excerpts from the Turnaway Play, a play by Lesley Lisa Greene that looks at what really happens when a woman is denied access to abortion. The play was inspired by the Turnaway study, which offered the first scientific examination of the consequences of abortion bans. The reading was followed by a discussion with Personal PAC CEO Sarah Garza Resnick and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss.

Several things were interesting about this event. The venue was Theo Ubique Cabaret, which I patronize several times a year, and it was a political fundraiser I hadn’t attended for a while. Adding to that, the topic is really close to my heart, and I felt the unity and readiness to fight, which I didn’t feel for a while.

The best moment from the play reading was when the lecturer posed a question to the class. She described a young woman getting into exciting educational program, being able to participate in a research of her dream. However, she does any rainy day fund, and she is not in a stable relationships, and she finds out that she is pregnant. What should she do? – asked the lecturer. Should she get abortion or should she keep the baby? And the answer is: it’s not your business! Only she can decide what’s the best for her! And that’s the statement I agree with 1000%!

The political speeches were very empowering. Sarah Resnick and Daniel Biss talked about the importance of the local elections and our commitment to defend the humanitarian values locally when the federal governments doesn’t. So were the talks with the guest – I didn’t feel so good for a very long time!

Overall, this day, which ran from 7 AM to 9 PM, was prefect: revitalizing and inspiring.