@pastorandprof.bsky.social
Public Defender. Retired college prof and pastor, dividing my time between Portugal and Spain. Shocked and disillusioned by what's happening in the USA. Intrepid and irrepressible author. Fearmonger. Bleeding heart for abused and abandoned animals.
I asked AI to predict what could happen if the entire government – executive, legislative, and judicial branches – was Republican … albeit with one critical caveat: the president was a convicted felon.
Available in paperback, eBook, and audioBook formats:
www.amazon.com/dp/B0FYLYDS42
It will take a revolution, if not a civil war. But the alternatives are even more frightening!
26.02.2025 18:45 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
If you're in Olvera, Spain, we will be open this Saturday: 10-14h. Come visit!
26.02.2025 16:49 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
They arrived at the United States border from around the world, hoping to seek asylum. Instead, they were detained, shackled and flown by the U.S.military to a faraway country, Panama They were stripped of their passports and most of their cellphones, they said, and then locked in a hotel, barred from seeing lawyers and told they would soon be sent to a makeshift camp near the Panamanian jungle. At the hotel, at least one person tried to commit suicide, according to several migrants. Another broke his leg trying to escape. A third sent a plaintive missive from a hidden cellphone: "Only a miracle can save us."
In one window visible from a sidewalk below the hotel, a woman clawed at a latchless glass pane in an attempt to escape. When she noticed journalists below, she held up a piece of paper that read "Afghan. She made hand motions that indicated an airplane, then her head falling off. The message seemed to be clear: A flight home meant death.
Hundreds of asylum seekers from around the globe are being trapped by the US in a Panama hotel where they'll eventually be sent to a camp in the jungle.
One Chinese man said “I thought: America is a free country with respect for human rights. I had no idea it was like a dictatorship.”
I am not making this up: Republicans have introduced legislation… to increase your bank fees.
18.02.2025 15:01 — 👍 28994 🔁 9522 💬 1152 📌 625
Inflation rose in January.
Working people are struggling to make ends meet.
Trump’s newly planned tariffs will make the problem worse. Let me explain. youtu.be/AfVGUiet39E?...
Still thinking about the Sassoon letter. www.muellershewrote.com/p/the-sassoo...
14.02.2025 20:20 — 👍 12881 🔁 2454 💬 232 📌 85
A SpaceX rocket exploded in January, leading to FAA safety violation fines.
Elon Musk threatened to sue the agency. Shortly after, the FAA administrator resigned.
The FAA's commercial spaceflight office could be next on the DOGE chopping block.
See the problem? www.propublica.org/article/elon...
Charming and comfy "cottage" in the historic area of Olvera, Spain. Separate bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bath. Fully furnished. Recently updated, upgraded, and decorated. Internet with WiFi. Smart TV. Aircon (heat and cool). Fly screens on all windows. Electric blanket. Washing machine.
14.02.2025 19:39 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Well before the June 1969 Stonewall riots threw open the closet doors to proclaim an unmistakable gay mantra, myriad clues—some subliminal, others overt—clearly ingrained the notion of homosexuality in advertisements appearing on the pages of American periodicals.
www.amazon.com/Hint-Homosex...
Feeling vulnerable is our common denominator. Always was, always will be. But now, increasingly so it seems. We feel vulnerable. Fearful. Hurt. So, we do whatever we can to protect ourselves. Because vulnerability has become a driving force of our lives.
www.amazon.com/VULNERABLE-W...
My story.
12.02.2025 17:12 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Based on my doctoral dissertation.
12.02.2025 11:26 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Actually, we are living in the "right" times. 😘
When do you believe are the right times to live?
(Asking for a friend ...)
And this richly illustrated book discusses our lives since settling into Portugal and Spain. We've lived abroad for seven years now. Like its "prequel" (Expat: Leaving the USA for Good), Spanish Towns, Portuguese Villages: A Journal for Expats and Immigrants is available from Amazon worldwide.
10.02.2025 13:37 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Following January 20, 1917, we left the USA to live in the EU—dividing our time between Spain and Portugal. Here's our story about becoming expats ... and then immigrants. Available in Kindle, paperback, and hardcover editions from Amazon worldwide.
10.02.2025 13:34 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0@michealdonovan02.bsky.social
10.02.2025 13:29 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0@michealdonovan02.bsky.social
10.02.2025 13:28 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Feeling vulnerable is our common denominator. For many, this need to adjust is threatening, because it removes us from the safety nets of our personal comfort zones. We feel vulnerable. Fearful. Hurt. So, we do whatever we can to protect ourselves.
www.amazon.com/dp/8409614596
Geography plays a significant role in shaping the culture and lifestyle of both Spain and Portugal. While both countries share the Iberian Peninsula, each has its own unique landscape, language, culture, and customs. Is either country — or both! — a good fit for you?
www.amazon.com/dp/B0DDZHYK5H
Tell me more about Republicans' respect for the military.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...
Remember: "The LOVE OF money is the root of all evil." How much money will it take to satisfy the oligarchs and billionaires of this world? Why must they keep trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored? Soon, even they will be poor--in health, spirit, friendships, community.
06.02.2025 16:20 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Great Meet-and-Eat at one of our favorite restaurants in Olvera (Corral de la Pancheca). Thanks, Kathy! We look forward to the next one.
05.02.2025 10:00 — 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0Glad to be back in touch, Grace!
05.02.2025 09:09 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Many gay and bisexual men — single, married, curious, questioning their orientation, still "in the closet," even those who declare themselves "straight," for that matter — fantasize about being with other men. It goes with the territory.
04.02.2025 18:18 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0We divide our time between Portugal and Spain. Actually, though, we looking for an affordable cruise around Croatia! 😁
04.02.2025 17:41 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
First, they promised to make things better, to make the country great again.
But taxes and the price of eggs kept rising.
They freed adjudicated criminals and para-military gangsters.
But these loyalists were again available for the ruler’s vengeance.
Quickly, they came to round up and deport the immigrants.
But, ironically, we were immigrants in another land.
To offset tax cuts for the wealthy, they pledged cutting benefits for low-income people.
But the majority of the country comprised lower wage earners.
They initiated a freeze on most federal funding.
But that caused chaos and was paused, at least temporarily.
They stopped all external communications from public health agencies.
But employees must consult with presidential appointees before corresponding with members of Congress or governors.
They went after other branches of government – legislative and judicial – which had provided guardrails against abuses in the past.
But politicians had sworn their allegiance to the man and his politics.