The Fun Begins

Republicans always hated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) when it came to hiring. 

It looks like they've replaced it with Incompetent, Unqualified, and Dangerous (IUD).

Yes, those cabinet picks, and the ones to come, will stock the federal government with a host of people with absolutely no qualifications for the jobs they've been nominated for. 

And that's the point. Because while you were worrying about grocery prices and immigration policy, and rightly so, the real winner in this election was the idea that the federal government should be chopped up and flushed down the drain. That's been the guiding principle of the conservative movement since Ronald Reagan's election in 1980, and now we've come to the point where we have a shameless president who is committed to slashing programs and rewarding his rich donors with tax breaks that will starve the government of its ability to serve the people.

If Donald Trump and his cabinet get their way, they will eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency, because it makes it more expensive to do business, what with all of those pesky regulations having to do with clean air and water, the Department of Education, because public schools are a cesspool of liberal ideas, never mind the billions that the department gives to states to finance special education, nutrition, and civil rights programs, weaken Social Security by not taxing tips, overtime, and a portion of Social Security payments, which will deprive the system of the funds it needs to pay retirees, all the while turning it into a 401(k) system that will endanger your retirement when the market slides, rather tahn keeping it a solid, guaranteed income you can rely on in your golden years.

In addition, done poorly, and with this group of undistinguished sycophants I don't see how they do their jobs well, there are other dangers afoot: Higher inflation because of high tariffs, massive deportations causing a labor shortage, major cuts to social programs that regular people use to survive in an unpredictable economy, cuts to health care, and, perhaps most tragically, a turn towards drilling for more oil and gas, more carbon emissions, a rollback of tax credits for buying cars and household appliances that pollute less, dirtier air and water, and a rise in chronic childhood diseases. 

Forget about this not ending well. This isn't even starting well. And if you listen to the gibberish emanating from Trump's transition team about his having a mandate from the people, you're likely to forget that he only won this election with 50.1% of the popular vote. 

This is not a mandate. 

But this is where we are, so we'll have to wait and hope for the best. In the meantime, I'll be looking forward to the stories that uncover the unsavory doings of Trump's nominees, how their business dealings create conflicts of interests, their contributions to fringe/racist groups, how many undocumented immigrants they've hired (and a bonus if they didn't pay them fairly or at all), and their dismissal of all previous instances where they've called Donald Trump unfit for office.

Yes, the fun begins. And it isn't even Thanksgiving.

On Immigration: The Fear and Loathing Takes Its Toll

Is this really the way we're going on immigration? Are we really going to base our policies on xenophobia, intolerance, ignorance and hatred?  Is the nation that is utterly defined by the immigrant experience going to follow someone who brings out the very worst in us?

Because what Donald Trump has said about immigrants, from the time he began running for President in 2015, is absolutely vile. And yet people cheer his hatred and threaten people who are here under the law. Instead of trying to fix the problem, he has stoked it and demanded that Republicans in Congress vote against an immigration bill that they helped negotiate, because it would hurt...Donald Trump. 

What's worse is that here we have a candidate for president of the United States who has demonized and victimized people who are here legally. He has created a climate of fear in Ohio and Colorado so extreme that Haitian immigrants, who have done nothing except work hard, educate their children and contribute to their community, fear going outside or socializing with their neighbors. 

This is someone who wants to be president again. It's outrageous. And unbelievable. Unconscionable. But people support it. And believe his wild tales.

Even more, I've seen posts on social media that ask why we don't spend more money and resources on American citizens. Why are we giving money to immigrants and foreign governments when we should be keeping that money here in the US. 

You want to know why? Because Republicans have voted down most bills that would provide more money and support for Americans. Republicans have opposed every bill having to do with providing health care, child care, parental leave, raising the minimum wage, expanding Medicare and Medicaid.

 Opposed. Every. One.

That's why many Americans are falling behind. It's not that we give an inordinate amount of money to immigrants, it's that we don't have programs that support our citizens. And it's the Republicans who are responsible for this denial of help.

But who is stoking the fires of inequality? Who is telling people that immigrants are a threat? The very same Republicans who are voting against every law that would help, including an immigration bill negotiated by conservatives and liberals alike that would begin to address the border. Why? Because Donaled Trump believed the bill would be bad for his campaign. Never mind that the bill would go a long way towards helping the situation at the border. Helping Americans is not Donald Trump's concern. The bill would be bad for him. So he told Republicans, even those legislators who agreed to the negotiations, to vote against it. And they did. 

Oh, the humiliation.

The problem is not immigrants. These are people who want to escape violence, have a well-founded fear that their political views will get them jailed or killed, or who live in countries where they belong to the wrong social, ethnic or religious group. 

The problem is the victimization of people the Republicans have deemed as not worthy of becoming Americans. It's also the stoking of hatred against any group of people for political gain. And the man who has no trouble with that hatred, the man actually leading the charge, wants to be president again.

Madness.

What's At Stake in November

We're getting to the end of the campaign, but that hasn't stopped Donald Trump and the Republicans from piling up the lies in an attempt to frighten people into voting for them. I'm not sure why Trump doesn't like the country, but he sure isn't shy about painting the United States in deep, dark shades. It's a far cry from the Harris smile and laugh, which says to me that she's got a far more accurate sense of what's happening in the country today.

And just in case you're waffling, or you don't think your vote will count much, here are some reminders about what's at stake in November.

We can now count JD Vance as an election denier, which means it doesn't matter what the votes say, if Kamala Harris wins the presidency, Vance and Trump will stop at nothing to get the results overturned. In that sense, January 6th will be remembered as a mere rehearsal for the mayhem I'm sure the Republicans are planning. It's a scary proposition, but, as opposed to Trump's dark musings, this is one terrible event that he has promised will happen. Every Harris supporter, and those who see the consequences of a palace coup, needs to vote Democratic on election day.

There's also the issue of climate change. Trump believes that it's a hoax and has committed himself to unleashing more fracking and drilling for oil if he's elected. This would be a disaster for the country and the world. Other countries are making great strides in their transition to sustainable sources of energy. We would instantly lose not only credibility in the world, but would also sacrifice our ability to attract investments to new energy technologies. And of course, we would be polluting the air and water and making more people sick because the president is ignorant of the facts.

And all you need to know about what Trump and the Republicans believe about the climate is in the misinformation and outright conspiracy theories concerning the two hurricanes that hit the country in the past two weeks. It's as if the conspiracies are now the news, and the real news is a minor point of contention that people can dismiss without concern. And even more moderate Republicans who try to get the truth out are being hammered down and ignored.

It doesn't stop with the climate. The continued conspiracies about immigrants--legal and undocumented--are the fuel to Trump's fire. He's now blaming immigrants for all of the country's problems from the economy to why people of color will outnumber whites within 20 years. What's really terrible about this is that he's creating victims who now face angry residents in their own towns for doing nothing more than moving there, getting a good job, sending their children to school, and contributing to their communities. They didn't take anybody's jobs; they filled in where the local population could not fill those jobs. And they buy goods from local merchants, which helps the town.

But to Donald Trump, these are horrible people. From a moral perspective, any presidential candidate who creates a situation where decent, law-abiding people are not safe in their communities because they've been singled out, is not qualified to be president. Yet people join in, or, worse, continue to support a man whose default is vile, xenophobic, nativist hatred.

He's done the same thing with the trans population, singling them out in a national advertising blitz as enemies of all that's decent in this country. Reasonable people can discuss the issue of gender and sports, or sexual orientation, or whether prison rehabilitation includes helping a person live the life they were meant to live, but to victimize another group of Americans, or to question whether someone who wants to transition to the gender they are meant to be, is reprehensible.

But wait! There's more!

Do you want more of your rights taken away? Want more justices who will take away your health care or ability to marry the person you love? Then by all means, elect Donald Trump and a Republican Senate. But if you care about justice and protecting ordinary citizens rather than the wealthy, then your only choice is Kamala Harris and the Democratic Senatorial candidate in your state (not all states are electing Senators). The last thing I want is for Donald Trump to be allowed to appoint more backward-thinking judges who believe that the law only protects ideas and types of people who were part of the country in 1789.

This is critical, and not an issue that you hear a great deal about, but conservative justices could change this country to reflect their views on marriage, religion in schools and the public square, and a narrow morality that, sadly, mirrors the amorality of Donald Trump.

As for foreign policy, a Trump presidency would be a most welcome gift for dictators everywhere, but especially for Vladimir Putin. Trump believes that Ukraine, not Russia, was actually behind the spying on his campaign in 2016, and of course he was impeached for trying to lean on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zalensky to get dirt on the Bidens. Trump’s plan to end the war between Russia and Ukraine is very simple: Give Putin everything he wants, including the land that Russia has stolen, and disqualify Ukraine from joining NATO. It would be the most brazen act of appeasement since Munich in 1938. And Putin would certainly see it that way.

And then there’s Israel. In the end, my view is that the only way there will be security for Israel and peace in the region is for the Palestinians to have their own state without any influence from Hamas or Hezbollah. Otherwise, Israel will be forced to continue to fight wars to defend itself and the Palestinians will continue to live in unconscionable conditions. Kamala Harris has already said that she supports a two-state solution. Trump does not. His position is a recipe for more deaths and more violence.

This November, the stakes are incredibly high. Search for the facts and leave the conspiracy theories, the blame, the hatred, the victimization, the xenophobia, and the lies where they belong; out of the ballot box.

About That Election

You're tired of reading about the election?

Then let's talk about the election. What's happening?

Oh, yes, Team Trump-Vance has decided that hard-working legal immigrants are taking jobs from American citizens, even when they are not actually taking jobs from American citizens, but are filling a void left by American citizens. Here we have legal immigrants who are working hard, sending their children to be educated, and contributing to their community, but are being victimized, to the point where these Haitians now need to worry about their safety, because Trump and Vance need to bathe in conspiracy theories. 

Business owners know the type of workers they need. Springfield, Ohio clearly did not have enough of them. Haitian immigrants were motivated to work. They moved. They got jobs. They are exactly what we want in an immigrant group. And for that, candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States threaten their safety and question their motives. It's a disgrace.

And then Trump-Vance has the gall to say that they support workers. As if they've said anything supportive of the dock workers or other union workers, or raising the minimum wage. They say they want to bring back jobs to this country, but nowhere do they say anything about issues that employees are concerned about. In his first term, Donald Trump tried to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. He says he wants to improve it, but the Republicans have had 10 years to tell voters how they would do that. Not a peep. The concept of a plan. In reality, nothing.

And then, of course, there's the lie of lies, that the election of 2020 was stolen from Donald Trump by...how? I'm still not sure. And really, there are no real reasons. As the Smith Report says, Donald Trump didn't care what the facts were. He just figured he'd fight and hope that a court or governor somewhere would support him and find him the necessary votes. 

This is the most destructive conspiracy theory we've had to endure since the Kennedy assassination. Donald Trump has somehow been able to convince far too many people that he's got a point, when he absolutely does not. It's a lie, and I don't know why Joe Biden didn't come right out and incessantly call Trump a sore loser and a cry baby and Donald Chump. Too many people were willing to believe a liar. 

Kamala Harris has been running a fairly traditional campaign, and her debate win has helped her a great deal with fund-raising and proving that she can stand up to a toothless bully. She certainly has her weaknesses, such as not being comfortable in interviews and not getting to the point quickly enough when she speaks, but otherwise, she is running the type of campaign that will help her win. She's going to places in swing states where Democrats are a distinct minority, but votes are votes no matter where you get them. 

She also waited before releasing policy details because I suspect she didn't really have details in July or August or early September. Now she does, and they make far more sense than engaging in a tariff war with friends and foes alike. Her policies also mirror Joe Biden's signature accomplishments that support more manufacturing, computer chip security, and a move to more sustainable energy sources. Because climate change is real. And always remember that Donald Trump doesn't think it is. 

In any case, Biden's policies are helping, especially in Republican states. Getting rid of them will hurt the economy. Raising tariffs will reignite inflation. So might more tax cuts. And if you really want more inflation, and a labor shortage, by all means let's have Donald Trump deport 8 million immigrants. Should many be told to leave? Yes. Prosecute the criminals. 

But the vast majority are hard-working people who want a better life. And anyone who took their children on a thousands mile trek through harsh jungle and made it alive, then asked for work, deserves to stay here. They are exactly the type of people we want as Americans.

The economy is on the mend. Prices are too high, but many are stabilizing and some are even going down. As are interest rates. And the border is more secure. We are headed in the right direction. Let's keep it that way.

And We're Back

Been a while, no?

Let's get to it with a hearty rant.

Here we are in the 21st century, supposedly living in the freest nation in the world, backed by the biggest, most diverse economy the world has ever seen, and with a history of being a beacon of hope and refuge for those who are persecuted abroad, yet we are being besieged by censorship on the right and left, are living in the most unequal era in our history, and are seriously knotted when it comes to immigration policy that many want to use to insulate us from a world we did much to create, while starving our workforce of the workers we need to grow and thrive. And all the while we fantasize about a warming world whose problems can be mitagted without much sacrifice from, well, anyone. 

This is where we find ourselves under the full weighted blanket of conservative political and social influence. Did you really believe that control over your own body would extend to your pregnancy? Don't be so foolish. Woman are merley vessels who carry the more important life. The assumption is that any woman who wants control over their body must have done something wrong. Or is selfish. Or wants to live. Or is immoral. The assumption on the right is that there is always something more important than you. And in Texas, your neighbor can arrest you and the Uber driver you rode in with if you dare to express your opposition.

What about parental rights? Evidently, parental rights only means that you support banning books from all libraries because you're afraid that your child might read something that makes them think differently or that leads to questions you'd rather not answer. Parental rights don't extend to that sweet child who has known since birth that they are not going to confrom to your reality and is gay. Or knows that they are not in the correct body. Or knows that they are not on a spectrum, they are on a continuum that enables them to express their individuality in a way that, wait for it...makes them happy. And seen. And heard. But if you want to support your child, the state will stop you.

And, oh Israel and free speech. Here is where the left joins the ugly shouting match. The speech codes that rule the modern college campus are the product of fear and the inability of the adults to impart the most important lessons of a college education; that you will find opposition to your ideas, that you need to find the intelligence and moral clarity to argue from a set of evidence-based ideas, and that you need to be tolerant, understanding, and sympathetic to someone who is on the other side of an issue from you. 

On the right is perhaps the greater hypocrisy. The very movement that tolerates and encourages antisemitism and racism in its ranks is in no position to lecture anyone about antisemitism in other parts of society. And the right wing has been utterly devoid of humanity when it comes to Palestinians who want self-determination. I watched the horrors of October 7 from a Jewish perspective and cursed the Hamas terrorists for their utter depravity and inhumanity. But as a world citizen, an unabashed supporter of human rights, and someone who has followed Middle Eastern politics and society since the Six Day War, I also looked at how Palestinians were forced to live and I asked the most relevant question:

What did you expect? 

You simply cannot treat people with such disdain and expect them to accept that treatment decade after decade and not expect an explosion. We propogated that type of treatment of marginalized people in the United States, then ignored their pleas. And what did we get? An explosion. 

What did you expect?

No, there is no room for racism, sexism, elitism or any other manner of thinking or speaking that denigrates another human being. There is not room for marginalizing or silencing or ridiculing another person for whatever reason. None. Ever. The problem is that we've tolerated and even encouraged those behaviors over the course of our history. We've taught that it's fine to see another person as inferior because of an attribute that we've assigned to them that is less than acceptable. If there is good news on this, it's that the younger people, you know, the ones who get ridiculed because of all the avocado toast they eat, are leading us through the difficult process of recognizing our demons, confronting them, and perhaps becoming a more equitable, accepting country. We can, and will, do better.

I still have enough optimism to believe that we can overcome our differences and create a more equal and just society. It looks bleak now, what with a country that has more guns than people, but things will turn because there are enough people who believe that it will turn and will do what they need to make that happen. Many states, even conservtive ones, have seen their citizens reject limits on abortion. Libraries and librarians are fighting back against censorship. And new laws that are planting the seeds of a new, cleaner, more resourceful energy system will take root. It's been slow and uneven, but like all new technology, we will reach a tipping point that will see an acceleration of the new. It happened with cras, radios, televisions, computers, and phones. It will happen with new technologies that will make this country, and the world, a greener place.

I do have hope. I do have energy. I do smile when I think about the future. How about you?

Thank you for reading. It's good to be back.