I Spy

Hoda Mathana left the United States to join ISIS in Syria, fully knowing that The Caliphate was dedicated to the destruction of the USA. In my opinion this woman , Hoda Mathana, should be left in the Syrian Refugee Camp where she is now.

She was an adult when she made up her mind to destroy the US by join ISIS.

When I was 15 years old, most of my friends were really excited about signing the Communist Manifesto. I read it through to the very end where it was clear that the aim of the Communist Party was the destruction of the US Government.I did not sign on and I have never joined any group or any organization whose express aim was the destruction of the US Government.

This woman who married 3 times, to men all of whom were members of ISIS. Each time her husband was killed, she promptly married somebody else who was a member of ISIS. Admittedly, she might not have had a choice in this matter.

If she is, allowed back into the United States, she should be tried for treason and jailed for life.

Think about it. She could easily be a mole and we would never know it.

Why should the American tax payers take on all of that? There is a hight cost for court time, for lawyers , and paying for her while she is in prison.

We have so much trouble deciding on a realistic immigration policy for this country, and we are disallowing and turning away people who are legitimately seeking asylum.

This girl left the United States to join a force that was dedicated to the destruction of the US and the Western World. She would be lucky to remain in the Syrian refugee camp where she is, with people who are legitimate refuges from an abusive and destruct Government.

The Huddled Masses

“Give me your tired, your poor,

your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

– Emma Lazarus, “The New Colossus”

Engraved on the Statue of Liberty

In view of the present inhumane approach to immigration, I’d like to clarify my concept of how America might be able to more willingly accept refugees whose culture and language are different from our own. Sixty-seven million people are refugees in the world at this time. No one abandons their home except in desperation. The world has never dealt with anything of this magnitude before. As the crisis evolves, so must our vision of a solution. We must redefine our entire concept of our border policy.

I think it is essential for refugees to be able to assimilate into their host country as easily and as soon as possible. America needs a study to ascertain how many people this country can assimilate per annum. And it would not be unreasonable to decide how many, and what trades or skills the country needs.

In my opinion, if people are allowed to concentrate in the same area, forming their own communities, it makes assimilation more difficult and sometimes takes several generations. There are communities in America, and particularly in the larger cities, where several generations of immigrants barely speak English, and certainly do not speak it well. Since the language of the United States is English, I believe firmly that all public schools should teach only in English, with a mandatory second language for every student.

After all, English is the language of our country, and I believe it should be preserved as such. Universal language and public education are essential for assimilation and for the life of a democracy.

Therefore, I would have new arrivals to the United States spend a certain amount of time in some kind of border facility, such as a university where they would have an intensive English Course. They would also learn about the history of America, understand the constitution, and understand the social contract under which they will be living, and the laws that will effect them. People’s lives can be improved when they are provided with the necessary skills and knowledge.

We probably should have trade schools, offered not just to refugees, but throughout the country for our own citizens, to help people adjust when they are forced to change jobs or trades. Trade schools and training would help people to make a quicker adjustment and enable them to get jobs.

To assimilate people as quickly as possible they need language skills and jobs, enabling them to enter the workforce and pay taxes, which is part of citizenship.

Even without Mr. Trump’s harassment at the borders, it’s extremely complicated to enter this country legally. And after finally entering, it is difficult to work legally. An Employment Authorization Document is needed to enter the workforce. In order to even request this employment, one must file a complex application which costs 410 U.S. dollars. It can take up to 150 days to process the papers. Given the desperate conditions under which people arrive, and the additional cost of employment papers, people have to be able to work as soon as possible. It takes too long to receive permission to work. The cost and the length of time together are almost by themselves an invitation to illegal entry and illegal employment.

In order to expedite successful assimilation, newcomers who enter the country should be dispersed, rather than be allowed to huddle together and form their own exclusive communities. For a period of time it might benefit them to be dispersed to less populated parts of the country where there is need for workers. I believe that existing local American communities would be more likely to accept and be helpful to smaller groups of people if they don’t feel overwhelmed when faced with what they perceive as an invasion of their communities where their jobs and culture are threatened.

Today’s problems are enormous and desperately require a new outlook, a new vision.

ACHTUNG!

ACHTUNG!

1. Attention!

2. Beware!

Anybody who lived through WWII who is still alive today will remember that “ACHTUNG!” was the Nazi call to attention. They recognize the classic signs and symbols of a systematic takeover by a totalitarian dictator. Do not forget that it was the people of Germany who voted Hitler into power, and that is what We The People of the United States are facing today.

A democratic society is complicated, confusing, and difficult. A dictatorship dismisses societal protections (whether they be for the environment, education, healthcare, or the arts) as complications and simply eliminates anything or anybody who gets in the way of simple, direct action and total control.

Unfortunately what this country needs at this time is complicated. It is made even more complicated by the social progress that has been made over the last 90 years. Probably the advent of computers and cell phones has exacerbated the problems and simultaneously shed more light on the divisions within the country, whether they be race, creed, religion, gender or financial inequality. This is a time in our history where leadership is as crucial as it has ever been. This nation, this democracy, is being torn apart and is in dire need of a healer who brings people together instead of what we now have, a divisive and destructive egocentric dictator.

The last Republican administration was that of George W. Bush and it was on his watch that we became involved in the total destruction of Iraq and the endless wars in the Middle East. It was on his watch that the banks were failing and the country was heading towards a serious financial depression. It was also George W. Bush who at last recognized the situation; late, but at least in time to start the turn around.

Obama ran his campaign on the need for a National Health Program, but even as he took office as President, he became caught up in the desperate need to stop and reverse the downward tide of the financial crisis facing the nation. He supported the banks for which he has received endless criticism. However, in the 1930’s, it was also the Republicans who caused the financial collapse. The banks were not saved, and a financial crisis plunged our country into a deep depression that swept the globe. There were no jobs, there was no money, and people starved. The truth is, we didn’t recover from the depression until after WWII.

So here we were in 2008 facing the same dilemma. Obama took action to put the country back on the path to recovery. It was not speedy but at least it was constant. Jobs were being created. The banks were secured. The stock market was on an upward trend. However, a certain portion of the population was still left behind, and their jobs disappeared. Numbers of people slipped from the middle class into poverty. Trump seized upon their vulnerability. He was subsequently elected and immediately claimed credit for all that Obama had accomplished.

Instead of addressing the ongoing problems and divisions in the country, he has exacerbated them, causing irreparable damage to the fabric of our society and to the very core of our Democracy.

This is a time in history where this country needs creative, enlightened leadership to help solve the many problems facing and endangering our society. This is a time to address the social, racial, and financial issues that separate the poor and the middle classes from the 1%. This is not the time to cut taxes for the wealthiest people in the world, nor for many wealthy corporations.

The country is split by serious problems of job displacement. Due to the advancement of technology, our economy today relies less on manufacturing, and more on technology. Therefore, the requirements of the workforce are different and more demanding than they ever were before.

We need to have a high level of education in order to prepare people for today’s job market. It takes an educated public to make demands of their government and hold them accountable. Education in this country is at a lower standard than it has ever been and we have never ranked higher than in the middle worldwide. Now we have a woman in office, chosen and backed by the President, neither of whom understands the value of a high quality public education, nor do they want it. They do not want an educated public. They do not want free speech. They are not open to accountability or criticism. A democracy cannot survive with an uneducated public. A dictatorship cannot survive with an educated public.

The congress, which constitutionally should be the nation’s check and balance system, has become an exclusive club to which members swear allegiance. Instead of representing their constituencies, the members are representing their party and drumming out anyone who disagrees with the party line. Our check and balance system is broken, and has played right into the hands of a demagogue.

Only someone incapable of dealing with the complications of a Democracy, someone looking to line his own pockets and to have the power to do so, chooses to be a dictator and thus rids himself of the problems or blame. Instead of governing he rules by edict. And further to save his own skin, he forces the appointment of his sycophant to denigrate the Supreme Court. Only someone incapable, incompetent and ignorant wants and needs to get rid of Free Press and Free Speech and any possible criticism. Are we as a nation really willing to give all of our freedoms and rights away to an ignorant and corrupt President and this sycophant’s followers in the Congress? Hit the streets folks: Rebel. Vote! Vote the despots out!

New vision for immigration

Today there are more displaced people in the world than there have ever been at any time in history. According to the United Nations, 67 million people are desperately seeking refuge somewhere. This vast displacement of people has caused a major crisis, and a growing crisis, to every nation in the developed world.

Huge numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers are being forced to live under unacceptable conditions while they desperately try to gain legal admission to any country that will accept them. The current systems are not solving the problem of massive immigration. It is incumbent upon the governments of all nations, the United Nations, the European community, and even the World Economic Forum to redefine immigration programs. It is also imperative that all of us, worldwide, find ways to aid refugees facing extraordinary challenges.

There is a sense of destabilization that occurs when a large population of different races, religions, and customs overwhelm an existing culture. As The United States does not have any viable immigration plan, these fears have empowered this administration and its tyrannical zero immigration policy. This policy has lead to cruel and inhumane treatment of desperate people.

The present anti-immigration policies of The United States, such as the deportation of people who have lived here for many years and the separation of children from their parents at the border, is absolutely not acceptable. It is not in any way a plan or solution to the massive refugee problem, nor is it a solution to immigration. It is tyrannical, unacceptable and totally short-sided for The United States.

America should welcome immigrants. We have almost full employment and we are an aging population with an historically low birth-rate. This confluence of circumstances can bring development and growth to a halt in The United States. Immigration is an important way of reversing the tide. In order to grow the economy we will need skilled workers to fill future jobs in farming, building infrastructure, and other trades.

It is often costly and usually takes an inordinately long time for people to apply and gain legal entry into The United States. There should be more entry ports and consulates so that this process could be shortened, and so that asylum-seekers could be dealt with more quickly and humanely.

Legal entry into The United States should have certain requirements. Obviously no criminal record, but also English should be required. Instead of having internment camps at the border, there should be English language schools.

No one should be allowed a green-card until they have a working knowledge of English. After all, English is the language of the country and it is what binds Americans together along with the social contract, the laws of the land, and the culture. English must be the primary language. Without it we lose the ability to take on jobs, assimilate, or feel a sense of patriotic love of country.

We as a nation have lost our moral compass. We must re-establish our own social and moral values in order to be able to impart them with impunity to the new arrivals. This should be done even as they are learning to speak English.

Another problem facing host countries receiving an overwhelmingly large number of refugees is that these people tend to seek their own kind. In turn they set up their own enclaves within the existing communities. Unless immigrants have families to go to, it would make sense to spread them out and direct them to areas of the country where they are needed and would be welcomed. For a period of years, their choice of settlement should be restricted. This would prevent them from forming separate communities.

Most communities have activities for all age-groups in which everybody can participate regardless of race, creed, or religion. It is simply easier and less threatening for communities to accept newcomers if they arrive as individuals.

It is abundantly clear that The United States nor other nations of the world can any longer run immigration systems with antiquated methodologies and concepts. This seems to be a time when America has to redefine itself just as we did at the time of the American Revolution and again during the Civil War.

White supremacists and religious fanatics cannot be allowed to shape the world in their own image. We, as Americans, must not allow it. These extremists are only a small part of our country. Our values are not, and should not, be so narrowly defined as they would have them be. People are and continue to be on the move. The genie is out of the box.

Clear The Swamp

It seems that what Trump supporters were hoping to achieve by electing Trump to be their president was really to reduce the effect of the federal government and the interaction of the federal government in their lives.

It would seem that the total destruction of the federal government is synonymous with clearing the swamp. It made me wonder what the federal government really does do for the citizens of the United States of America.

This is the list that I’ve come up with:

Federal:

1. Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

2. Immigration law

3. Federal discrimination and civil right laws protecting against racial, age, gender and disability discrimination

4. Provides 8% in funding for educational programs and stimulates a dialogue on how to create a globally competitive educational system

5. Bankruptcy laws

6. Patent and copyright laws

7. Federal criminal law such as tax fraud law and the counterfeiting of money

8. Oversees repair, management, and funding for interstate highways and national parks

9. Provides roughly 1% of necessary funding towards the arts

10. Federal voting laws

State laws:

There are 50 states and several commonwealths and territories within the U.S. Each one has its own system of laws and courts that handle the following:

1. Criminal matters

2. Divorce and family matters

3. Workers Compensation for injuries at work

4. Personal injuries, such as car or medical malpractice

5. Welfare, public assistances, or medical matters

6. Wills, inheritance and estates

7. Real estate and other properties

8. State laws govern overall educational standards

9. The major portion of funding for education is provided by the state

9. Oversees repair, management, and funding for state highways and parks

10. States provide about 2% of funding towards the arts in contrast to the federal government’s 1% of funding.

11. States oversee business contracts

12. State voting laws

City/local:

1. Local safety (police and fire department)

2. Rent laws (leasing, rent control, evictions, living conditions)

3. Zoning laws

4. Oversees repair, management, and funding for city roads, parks and recreational areas

5. They provides roughly 3% of funding towards the arts.

These provision are all made by federal, state, or local governments. I went over this list pretty carefully and I couldn’t find very much that I would like to give up or have taken away from me. I can understand that people feel that the government is not adequately addressing their needs.

Over the past 90 years, since Franklin D. Roosevelt, many of these laws and institutions have been created by various presidents in order to protect and benefit all of us who live in the United States of America. Everyone who can work and can contribute is obliged to do so. Not everyone contributes equally, some need more from the government than others do, but that is that nature of living in our democracy.

I understand that although the intention is to benefit or protect everyone, there will always be imperfections. My belief is that we should work to correct and improve, but not to destroy the structures that have been put in place. If there are inadequacies it is the right of the citizens of this country to seek to improve and make changes. However, what this president and administration has done to destroy all of these benefits is not constructive.

It is up to all of us to vote for the people locally and nationally who will seek to make the improvements, changes, and find remedies that will satisfy the needs of the neediest member of our society. Don’t toss the baby with the bathwater. Hit the streets!

Trump’s Crime Against Humanity

While gun-control is an important focus for the American public, we must not lose track of the crimes that are being perpetrated by this administration and the members of congress.

The United States fought a bloody civil war from 1861-1865 to free the slaves. Now Trump has dragged this country back to pre-civil war behavior. He is creating a whole new level of servitude, otherwise known as slavery.

“At least five lawsuits have been filed against private prisons, including GEO and CoreCivic, over detainee pay and other issues. The lawsuits allege that the private prison giants use voluntary work programs to violate state minimum wage laws, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, unjust enrichment and other labor statutes…

Inmates in Colorado and California have also sued the Boca Raton, Fla.-based company, alleging that they were forced to work for $1 per day to pay for necessities like food, water and hygiene products. Detainees performed janitorial work such as scrubbing floors and cleaning windows, as well as clerical work, washing laundry, even cutting hair. Detainees who objected were punished by “disciplinary segregation or solitary confinement” or referred for criminal prosecution, one suit alleged.” – Tracy Jan, Washington Post

Now these poor impoverished congressman are crying out to Trump for help to save them from lawsuits by immigrant prisoners.

During WW2 the United States committed the sinful detention of Japanese and other nationals who were deemed to be potential enemies of the people. We are now repeating this shameful detention policy with immigrants.

This congress wants to be supported against lawsuits, which they damn well deserve. They should be sued! Both for the conditions under which they are forcing these people to live, and they should be sued again for their failure to create a proper decent immigration policy for the United States. They should be put in prison for their failure to serve the people of the United States of America with decency and honor.

Trump tweets, but he never experiences. He has never gone hungry, never served in any capacity (army, public office, etc.), he’s never been out in the mud, he’s never been out in the rain, and he’s never taken a bullet. He should spend a few days in lock-up with these immigrants, so that he can experience first-hand the cause and effects of his mean-hearted and thoughtless tweets.

His supporters in congress looking to be saved from the lawsuits, should instead be prosecuted for crimes against humanity. They should be forced to taste their own medicine.

Awake and Sing

This list was created by Laurence W. Britt who wrote about the common signs of fascism in April, 2003, after researching seven fascist regimes: Hitler’s Nazi Germany; Mussolini’s Italy; Franco’s Spain; Salazar’s Portugal; Papadopoulos’ Greece; Pinochet’s Chile; Suharto’s Indonesia. A poster version of this was even sold in the United States National Holocaust Museum.

Does this sound familiar? Is this the road we’ll travel?

Text:
Early Warning Signs of Fascism
Powerful and Continuing
Nationalism
Disdain For Human Rights
Identification of Enemies
As a unifying cause
Supremacy of the military
Rampant Sexism
Controlled Mass Media
Obsession With National Security
Religion and Government Intertwined
Corporate Power Protected
Labor Power Suppressed
Disdain For Intellectuals & and the Arts
Obsession With Crime & Punishment
Rampant Cronyism & Corruption
Fraudulent Elections

Slippery Slope

I have always wondered what is the benefit of being a dictator. I have never heard of a dictator under whom a country flourished. The possible exception being Singapore, under the benevolent dictatorship of Lee Kuan Yew. I’m not sure that I really understand the rational of having total power over a country whose economy is foundering and a regime that is basically shunned by the rest of the world.

In order to have control in America the President needs to have the support of the Congress. To that end Mr. Trump was more than willing and has continued to be more than willing to support rapists, child molesters, crooks and criminals. This was certainly evidenced by his support of Roy Moore a known child molester. Trump said “I don’t care, I want that seat in the Senate filled by a Republican”. Whether it was good or bad for the country was of no consequence to Mr. Trump.

It is interesting to note that the support Trump requires is no different from that of any other dictator. He needs and has gained the support of the right wing of the Republican party whose interest seem to be the same as Mr. Trump’s, personal gain and not for the benefit of the American people.

He is systematically destroying the fabric of our society, along with the support systems, and the underpinnings that have helped the poorest and the eldest members. He has also lowered the standards of morality, mores, decency and respect. His staff appointments so far indicate that this is what he wants to accomplish .

The members of the Republican party who disagree with him resign. I have to assume that this is out of sheer frustration at finding oneself, a person of principle and ethics to be constantly outvoted by the members of ones own party who seem to be unprincipled and dedicated to the destruction of the American society as we have known it.

The fact that there are sex offenders in the Congress and amongst Mr. Trump’s staff appointments is almost a distraction from the fact that this country continues to support a President who is himself a known sex offender, a liar and a possible criminal tax evader. It is no secret that he and his family are gaining financial benefit from the position that he holds.

Our democracy is proving to be a frail vessel for an individual who wants absolute control over the destruction of the society. Beware my friends. He is a total Dictator.

Gag the gaggers

Trump administration deprecates women worldwide

If the increase in worldwide population is the issue that many people believe it is, then we should look closely at our own Congress and our own government for the irresponsible role that they play. Among the very first actions taken by this administration was to institute a worldwide gag order which was wildly supported by the born again Christian right wing of the Republican Party. The gag order means that organizations anywhere in the world receiving government money would be cut off from funding if they so much as mention abortion, birth control or any other issues that effect women’s reproductive health.

It is obvious that these people in this administration are so ignorant and so abusive of women that they do not even understand the relationship between women’s ability to take control of their reproductive lives and the subsequent decrease in the rates of both the population and the number of abortions. The distribution of contraceptives and information provided by the UN Population Fund prevented 3.7 million abortions last year, so obviously if you are against both population increase and abortion then you should logically support the UN Population Fund instead of destroying it.

The ignorant men in this administration should actually be forced to go out and visit some of the countries like Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, Sierra Leon and others, to see for themselves how both their cruelty and ignorance are forcing women to suffer from the consequences of poor care and lack of information during difficult pregnancies. By a simple pen stroke instituting the worldwide gag order, millions of women are condemned to suffering fistula, prolapses and agonizing deaths from childbirths and even cervical cancer. Much of this is avoidable through education, proper healthcare, family planning, birth control and sometimes even abortion.

Some of these conditions, such as an obstetric fistula, cause incredible pain and furthermore humiliation by the failure of their flesh to heal while their bodies rot away. An obstetric fistula is a hole between the vagina and rectum or bladder that is caused by prolonged obstructed labor, leaving a woman incontinent of urine or feces or both. This disease causes a foul body odor as well, creating a condition that seemingly justifies and empowers the community to shame and shun these women, leaving them to rot away, alone and uncared for.

The real shame belongs to the sanctimonious, ignorant misogynists who think that they represent God’s will on earth and claim themselves to be pro-life. So much suffering can hardly be called pro-life. It is making birth control medication and information available to these women that is pro life. Why don’t the sanctimonious misogynists with God on their side do something constructive to help women avoid abortions and reduce the rate of increase of the population? Instead the religious right is ravaging the health programs that might help decrease the disastrous plight of women. The worldwide gag order itself is a product of mean minded, selfish, cruel misogynists who are basically ignorant of the world and the problems that abound in it.

Do these misogynists really represent the United States? Do they really believe that their daughters, wives, sisters, nieces, granddaughters, cousins are not using birth control? Is it only because their wives and children can afford to buy it that they are allowed to have it and use it? Does that mean that the poorer people of the world or working class of America are not to be allowed to have access to family planning? Does that mean it should be removed from corporate insurance policies because it saves them money? Is this America? Is this why we can’t have a health plan affordable to everybody in the United States supported by the Insurance Companies and Pharmaceutical Companies? Is it really the job of the Congress to deny these rights to everybody in need in the world? Is that what America has come to?

The answer is hit the streets. Vote. Run these people out of office.

Pit Fall: Trump fails America’s health

I find it so incredibly disturbing that, aside from Trump’s total inadequacy, unpreparedness, egocentricity and everything else that should disqualify him as a human being let alone, as President of the United States, he has been allowed to put together a cabinet of people who are basically unqualified for the jobs to which they have been appointed. It is hard to believe that he is supported by a Congress of religious fanatics who instead of serving the less fortunate, are bent on destroying all of the support systems that have been set up in the last 84 years since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. All of these people are wealthy basically and I suppose that if any of them had to pay for their own healthcare out of their pockets they probably could do so. Certainly the Trump family who seem to be making money everyday that their father is the President of this country, I suppose they could afford it. However for most people in this country who are not crooks and who do not play the system, who just work as hard as they can to survive and to pay their rent and put food on the table, those people and most Americans depend on their health insurance plan to save them and their families if they are struck by some long term illness or sudden emergency.

I simply am unable to understand why anyone would not want to support affordable care for everyone, a bill that took generations to finally achieve. We are the only nation in the developed world that did not have a national health program. Finally Obama managed to squeeze through an imperfect one. Okay Mr. wheel and deal Trump, go deal with the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical companies and fix the Affordable Care Act so that it makes medical insurance available at the same price for everybody across the country. It should be affordable for everyone, young and old, rich and poor. Even young people can have emergencies, they too may need the coverage even though they may think that youth is on their side. As far as the insurance companies are concerned, with that many people on the insurance plan they will be making plenty of money anyway but it should not be a source of profiteering. And they will anyway be making more by insuring cars, homes etc. But health insurance should be set at an affordable price for everyone. I really don’t understand the selfish, mean mindedness of Trump and this Congress. I fail to understand why these religious fanatics, the right wing of the Republican party are so bent on destroying the health and lives of their own constituence. Where does the Bible teach them to serve themselves? Where does their religion teach them to profit from sickness and desperation?

The public needs to be knowledgable enough to force Trump and the Congress and the Senate and his cabinet to IMPROVE the Affordable Care Act but NOT to destroy it. These people, this administration care more about money in their own pockets, than they do about the welfare the nation.

Rise up America! Take action before it is too late. Vote to improve the level of leadership and education, before we end up with an ignorant public voting for the destruction of America and American values.