The presidential candidates and the incumbent are in their 70s and all white. I have nothing against their age or their race. If he can unite the country and make us better as a nation, I will support him. The race is now between Biden and Bernie.

With Biden, we can foresee his political agenda. He will continue where Obama left off, especially on healthcare. He’s a safe bet. Bernie, on the other hand, will make more drastic changes, particularly on healthcare. I am all in on Medicare for All. Let me give you a real-life scenario.

My nephew who is in his late 30s had made a drastic decision to start a new life. He quit his job, sold his house, and moved his family to a new country. Unfortunately, his plan didn’t work out. He moved back to the U.S., tried to find a new job, and restarted from scratch. He applied everywhere, but nothing came through. While on his job search, he got sick. Because he didn’t have health insurance, he kept brush it off until he had trouble breathing. He checked himself to the hospital because he thought he could die. It turned out that he had serious heart failures and if he didn’t check in, he could have died. He was hospitalized for three weeks and his medical bill was $80,000. Without a job and not much in his bank account, he applied for Medicaid. Who is picking up the bill? Yes, tax-payers. If we had Medicare for All, he would not have put his life as risk.

If Bernie keeps his promise, he would be the ideal candidate. Bernie is at a disadvantage because the establishment is railing against him, but it is still up to the rest of the Democrat voters to decide who will get the nomination. Either Bernie or Biden, we have to get behind that person. We can’t win the general election if we are divided. I urge supporters of either Bernie or Biden to come together to vote out the danger in the White House. Just look at the way the idiot is mishandling the Coronavirus pandemic.

Hôm trước tôi tình cờ trò chuyện với một đứa cháu gái—tuy gọi là cháu nhưng nó cũng ba mươi mấy tuổi rồi. Tôi hỏi cháu có đi bầu cử không và cháu trả lời “không.” Vì chẳng phải là cháu của tôi nên cũng chỉ hỏi cho có lệ. Thế rồi cháu nói chuyện với cậu thật của nó. Thì ra cháu chẳng biết gì về chính trị và cháu chưa từng đi bầu cử cho dù cháu có thể sinh tại Mỹ hoặc định cư lúc còn rất nhỏ.

Tôi thật sự ngưỡng mộ sự thơ ngây của cháu. Cháu có thể sống một cách thoải mái mà không bị ảnh hưởng bởi sự ồn ào và điên đảo của chính trị diễn ra từng ngày trong xã hội. Thật sự thì biết cũng chẳng có ích lợi gì. Chính trị ở Mỹ bị mua bán từ mấy chục năm qua. Càng theo dõi càng thêm phiền muộn. Tôi đã cố gắng gạt bỏ nó qua đời sống của mình vì nó đã khiến tôi mất tình cảm bạn bè và người thân trong gia đình. Tôi thấy không đáng.

Tôi muốn tinh thần được trở lại như cháu. Chỉ cần làm những gì mình thích và chỉ quan tâm đến những gì ảnh hưởng đến riêng mình. Suy nghĩ như thế có lẽ quá hẹp hòi nhưng cuộc sống sẽ thoải mái và thanh thản hơn. Những ngày tháng sắp tới sẽ còn gây cấn và căng thẳng hơn. Chắc phải deactivate Facebook một thời gian để qua vụ bầu cử tổng thống.

Đúng ra tôi phải theo đảng Cộng Hòa vì không ai điên đến nỗi tự đánh tay nuôi cái miệng. Từ lúc đảng Cộng Hòa lên, nơi tôi làm càng mạnh. Đã nhiều giáo viên tạm nghỉ dạy theo lời kêu gọi của chính phủ. Trong bốn năm vừa qua trường đã nhận gần 100 triệu tiền đóng góp từ những tay Mạnh Thường Quân của đảng Cộng Hòa. Cho dù như thế tôi vẫn không thể chấp nhận đường lối vô lương tâm và sự rụt rè của những nhà lãnh đạo bên đảng Cộng Hòa. Linh hồn của họ đã bị con đười ươi màu da cam cướp đi mất. Họ không còn là những thủ lĩnh làm việc cho dân nữa. Họ đã trở thành những con chốt bị điều khiển. Họ chọn sự trung thành với đảng trên cả đất nước. Họ chỉ lo cho người giàu mà không quan tâm đến những người trung bình và người nghèo. Thật đáng tiếc quá.

Tôi không biết rồi đây sẽ bị ảnh hưởng gì trong công việc nếu đảng Cộng Hòa không còn mạnh nữa nhưng đất nước sẽ tốt hơn với một vị tổng thống mới. Nhất là sau khi đánh gục con đười ươi đã tung hoành phá hoại đất nước trong mấy năm qua. Tôi biết rất nhiều người trong cộng đồng Việt rất tôn thờ con đười ươi. Đó là quyền lợi tự do của họ. Chỉ hy vọng rằng dù sao đi nữa tình đồng hương, tình bạn bè, và nhất là tình người thân không bị ảnh hưởng. Cho nên nếu tôi có lời xúc phạm xin bỏ qua. Tôi không cố ý. Dù chính trị có thay đổi thế nào tình cảm của tôi đối với người thân vẫn không đổi thay. Lý do đơn giản vẫn là không đáng.

I woke up at 6 am, headed to the poll, and cast my vote for Elizabeth Warren. I turned off my phone and continued to read Ted Chiang’s Exhalation until 8 am. An HVAC technician came to check out our twelve-year-old system. Of course, he recommended a brand new unit. My wife brushed it off.

I had a late breakfast Đán made for me. I took him to the pediatrician to take a look at his skin. He has Molluscum. I planned on taking my three older kids and their cousin out, but little Vương headed to the door and grabbed his sneakers as soon as he saw me opening the door. I cajoled my wife to come along because I could not handle five boys by myself. She took off work as well to join us. We went to Ballston Quarter for lunch then ice skating for a dollar on Tuesdays. Despite the rink being packed with kids, we got some good exercise for just a buck. Then we headed to Möge Tea for over-priced sugar drinks.

We headed back home and dropped my wife off at the polling place so she could vote. I hope she voted for Warren as well, but I do not impose my view on her. Though we would have a big problem if she supported that rotten orange whiny little bitch. I am just kidding. It would be an interesting relationship.

We celebrated Super Tuesday with chả cá Lã Vọng (Hanoi turmeric fish with dill). Even though I voted for Warren, whoever gets the nomination could beat the fucking incompetent incumbent is fine with me.

Yes, I voted for Elizabeth Warren. I still hold out hope for her. I am not going to let the media and the establishment influence my vote. She remains strong, smart, and strategic. I still want her to be our next and first-female president.

Pete Buttigieg drops out just two days before Super Tuesday. The move is quite shocking, but it makes sense if the rumor is true about the Biden-Buttigieg ticket. I can get behind that. I am planning on voting for Elizabeth Warren on Super Tuesday unless Biden announces his VP pick before then.

I have not kept up with this election as closely as I should. I had to stop following the news for my own mental health and sanity. From early on, I had decided who to vote for on Super Tuesday and I have not changed my mind. Elizabeth Warren is still my choice. Even if she won’t get the nomination, I am still down with Amy, Bernie, Joe, or Pete. Any if these candidates will be much better for America than the clown in the White House.

What will be at stake in this election isn’t just the presidential race, but also the Congress. Democrat needs to take control of the Senate. In the worse case scenario if the lunatic gets re-elected, Congress can impeach him again and actually remove the motherfucker.

I have learned to not let him get to me. My life has been much better without paying attention to him. Although I don’t give a fuck about him, I still want to see him go away after this election. Then again, I have many family and friends, the Vietnamese-American community in particular, supporting him. I respect their choice. I just don’t want him to ruin our relationships or friendships. I am not mad at you. I have nothing but love for you. Who you vote for is your prerogative.

After almost four years of hell, I am optimistic that our democracy will survive the tumultuous time. It has been challenged, but not dead yet. It has been damaged, but can be restored. I love America, its democracy, and its freedom. Even with a horrendous president ruining our country, I would rather be here than anywhere else in the world. The fact that I can write down this post and speak my mind without fear is what I have come to appreciate about America and its freedom of speech.

As I walked to the public library, an elder Black man approached me. He asked if I registered to vote. I replied, “Yes, sir.” He asked if I would put him on the ballot for Congress. I looked up at his Trump 2020 cap and I asked, “Are you running as a Republican?” He replied, “No, I am running as an Independent.” I smiled, “Really? But your hat says it all.” He responded, “I am wearing a swim-team jacket too and I don’t know how to swim.” I shook my head. He followed up, “You know, my grandfather got shot for the right to vote.” I shot back, “Then you should not support that racist. I am sorry, sir, and I am not trying to be disrespectful, but I can’t put my name down for you.”

Earlier today, I went to a Vietnamese New Year Festival with my wife and kids. After a fun lion dance, a Vietnamese-American fellow announced that he is running for Congress. His last name is Trương and we are definitely not related. His slogan is “MVGA.” WTF? That’s right. It stands for “Make Virginia Great Again.” How original?

I wanted to ask him, “What’s wrong with Virginia?” I spent over ten years in the state for lovers and it is already great, especially with the recent election. I didn’t approach him because I was busy with my kids and I didn’t want to ruin the fun.

To the organizers, can we leave politics out of this kind of festival? Can we just enjoy the spirit of Tết without any political agenda? That said. I doubt this MVGA campaign will gain any traction.

Our marriage has come to the point where anything coming out of my mouth would piss off my wife. As we were having breakfast this morning, the kids watched some music videos on Vietnamese New Year. Seeing firecrackers bursting on the screen gives me nostalgia of tết. I didn’t address my wife directly. I just made a comment that banning firecrackers is good because of serious injuries and even deaths. She blew up saying if I think the communist is so good why don’t I go back and live there. Easy lady, don’t “Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn” me.

I don’t believe in communism, but in some cases the power to make the decision is good, especially on issues that can harm people. The problem with democracy is the political toxic and divisiveness. Guns, in the wrong hands, had taken so many innocent lives in America, and yet the law had gone nowhere to protect us. Mass shooting after mass shooting and more lives have been lost, yet all that politicians can offer is thoughts and prayers instead of solutions to prevent the tragedy. If the government can’t do anything about it, then we must do what is necessary to protect ourselves.

Lately, I have been thinking hard about arming. We’re now living in a gun nation. If someone else has guns and I don’t, guess who is going to die? I hate to even have to think this way, but not having a protection will put me at a disadvantage in a life-threatening situation. I am responsible for at least five lives and it is irresponsible for me not to protect them. Just a thought to ponder upon.

As I become more engaged with my fellow Vietnamese Americans, I realized that the majority of us supports Donald Trump. Whether they are ill- or well-informed, I respect their political perspective. We argued when we drank, but we agreed to disagree.

With the recent controversy surrounding Mr. Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn, I am disappointed with the Vietnamese-American community. The attack and the name-calling are low and narrow-minded. He was called “Việt Gian” (Fake Vietnamese or traitor) for criticizing Trump. Anytime anyone has a different opinion from the community is accused of working for Việt Cộng no matter how profound the person had contributed to the Vietnamese-American community.

America is a free country and the First Amendment protects the freedom of speech. Mr. Nguyễn is entitled to his opinion just like the rest of us entitled to ours. I find the responses from Vietnamese-American news media and celebrities to be hilarious and ignorant. They advised Mr. Nguyễn to do thorough research before opening his mouth and yet they failed to do their own research. Mr. Nguyễn pointed out that Canada processed more than 50,000 asylum claims coming from the U.S., which is true according to Canadian government statistics. He did not just pulled that number out of thin air.

As a community, we must embrace and respect different perspectives. Diversity makes us stronger. We are not monolithic; therefore, we don’t have to be all Republican. We certainly don’t have to worship the ground Trump spits on. We can still call him out for his inhumane and immoral politics. Stop boycotting, protesting, and silencing Mr. Nguyễn for speaking out. We are not communist.