A Little Immigration Reality

 I think it's time to discuss immigration, because a lot of you simply do not understand it.

The laws of the U.S. allow people to apply for asylum. Many, many immigrants have done that. They then have to wait for a judge to hear their cases, and this unfortunately can take as long as five years, perhaps longer. This is a result of Congress' inability to pass meaningful legislation to alleviate this situation despite multiple administrations of both parties pining for just that. 

Many of these folks have been in this country illegally for decades, building families, owning and renting homes, holding jobs, paying taxes, and contributing to the economy. Like the rest of us, they keep their heads down and live their lives. 

But yes, they remain here illegally, and there is no argument to that. They are now living in mortal fear of deportation back to a country they likely barely recognize. 

No one, not even the most left-wing person you know, has ANY issue shipping criminals back to the countries from which they came, believe me. Have at it. 

But it's these hard-working, yet still illegal, immigrants who present the problem. 

What do we do with them? Should they and their families be summarily forced from their homes and sent back? Or would it be more compassionate and right to allow them the chance to become legal citizens before taking such drastic action?

It's important that we all remember these people are likely no different from our own ancestors, who ponied up to Ellis Island over 100 years ago seeking a better life. Do not buy into the fear mongering of Trump and his ilk about how these people are somehow evil monsters hell bent of destroying America. 

Demand that your representatives fix the laws, not punish innocent people who are here seeking a better life. It is possible to be compassionate and still uphold the laws and have a secure border. 

Act like these people are your grandparents. Because they damned well could have been. 

PPP

I wrote this back in January. Figured I'd post here for posterity. 

Yesterday, President Poopy Pants (PPP) began Phase I of his new plan, known as "Operation Shocking & Awful," by releasing over 1,600 of the worst human beings on Planet Earth back into our midst.

On 1/6/2020, these miscreants punched, kicked, bit, pounded with flags, sprayed with bear and pepper spray, and crushed in doorways, the galant members of the Capitol Police who were simply trying to allow the government to conduct  business. Several officers died, and many more were gravely injured. 

These miscreants continued on to bulid a scaffold and threaten to hang the VP, cause millions of dollars of damage to the Capitol Building, deficate on its floors, break into its offices, and steal property from our representatives, this in a blatantly stupid and failed attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power at the behest of an ignoramus who to this very day still claims, with ZERO evidence, that the 2020 election was stolen from him. 

PPP did this to undermine the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the many thousands of officers and prosecutors who found these people and delivered the evidence to convict them legally. And also to offer a big "nanner, nanner, nanner" to the laws of the land, which he believes he is above. 

Be sure to say hello if you see one of these fine specimens at a Wawa near you getting their morning coffee,  harassing little old ladies, and stealing a candy bar on their way out the doors.

Be prepared for Phase II of "Operation Shocking & Awful," where PPP takes away more of your already waning civil rights and continues to fatten his wallet and those of his rich friends at your expense while further destroying the middle class, as Republicans have been slowly but surely doing since 1980.

Welcome to the Cult of Truth. 

The Trump-Hitler Comparisons Make You Mad? Tough Noogies

I know people hate it when Trump is compared to Adolph Hitler, and I get it. Hitler murdered over six million people and caused a World War that destroyed a great deal of Europe, cause the deaths of 50 million people. So yeah, that's a pretty high bar of evil.

But after watching yet another documentary about Hitler and Nazi Germany, it's impossible to deny the comparisons.

Why?

Because Trump is obviously following in Hitler's filthy footsteps with regard to his behavior in acquiring and keeping power. It's as plain as the nose on your face.

Like Hitler, Trump uses a firehose of misinformation to distract the public, while discrediting the free press. And like Hitler, Trump's efforts have borne evil fruit — the majority of Americans simply do not trust the press any longer, which leaves them ripe for conspiracy theories and crackpots.

Which is exactly what Trump wants. Then, like Hitler, he becomes the sole source of "the truth."

Like Hitler, Trump is seeking to surround himself solely with loyalists. That is the sole qualification for the jobs to which they are being appointed. This is intentional, part of the plan. Trump does not care a lick if they do their jobs. He only cares that they do HIS bidding. In many cases, "his bidding" will involved the destruction of the very entities to which they have been appointed to lead.

Like Hitler, Trump already began corrupting the judiciary in his first term by appointing loyalists who will not hold him to account for his misdeeds. These corrupt justices of the High Court were selected and groomed by the religious right Federalist Society and lied their way to their appointments before taking cases that favored Trump and then ruling in his favor. These included, of course, the over-turning of Roe v Wade and the REAL abortion of placing the POTUS above the law, granting him immunity for virtually any deeds committed that can be classified as "official duties." Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is more anti-American than that.

Hitler, once in total command of Germany, immediately betrayed his loyal SA and replaced them with his hand-picked protection squad known as the SS. These soldiers/murderers were forced to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler rather than Germany. Trump is putting loyalists in place in high-ranking positions in the military, people who he believes will do his bidding and put his wants and needs ahead of their loyalty to the Constitution of the United States.

Is it then far-fetched to think that someday he might demand that all U.S. military personnel take a similar oath of loyalty to him rather than the Constitution? Honestly, I don't think it's far-fetched at all.

With complete loyalists at the upper rungs of the military, and with complete immunity for official acts, and with a House and Senate who refuse to stand up to him, and with a Supreme Court that will apparently give him everything he wants, I think it's perfectly logical that he would consider it. The checks and balances set up by the founders will be toast.

Of course, this is the part where Hitler really began his plan to murder six million people and initiate a World War so Germany could rule over all of us.

I kindly doubt that is in Trump's plans. However, I firmly DO believe he will attempt to remain in power for life, or at the least, make certain that the right wingnuts, uber-wealthy, and religious whackos are able to accomplish this. J.D. Vance is certainly a firm believe in all those insane things, and I have no doubt he will assume the presidency at some point within the next four years and continue Trump's evil agenda.

Trump told his minions that if they got out and voted for him this time, they would "never have to vote again." What does the rational mind tell you about a statement like them?

It tells me that they are working on ways of corrupting the system that will allow them to remain in power and impose their beliefs upon us all for eternity.

Scoff if you want, but this is not only within the realm of possibility, it is actually already in progress in many ways and in many venues across this land.

Pay attention, people. Democracy is in grave danger here and also in other places across the globe. If we don't stand up and speak out, it could vanish before our very eyes.

They Don't Believe in Government

Trump and his ilk do not believe in government. They don't even PRETEND to believe in governance. This is crystal clear to anyone paying attention to their words and actions.

Ever since Ronny Reagan came out and told you that "government IS the problem," rich people have been trying to convince you of that.

But it's simply not true. 

FDR proved it in the 1930s and 40s, and his policies basically built the middle class, i.e., our parents. His New Deal pulled the country out of the great depression and built an economy that allowed fairly uneducated immigrants to thrive and survive and feed their families. 

Biden's policies were an attempt to return the country to a level playing field, one the ultra-rich do NOT want to play on. And it is beginning to work,  despite what the Republicans have been saying. The numbers prove that out. 

What people like Trump want is the freedom to do whatever they want with no interference from government in the form of ANY regulation. They want free reign to continue to make obscene profits while keeping folks like you and me dumb and down, where they believe we belong. 

This is why he is putting incompetent loyalists in all high-ranking government positions. The game is to make government stay out of their way while they do whatever they want. They want no controls nor barriers to the actions they want to take. 

If this doesn't scare the crap out of you, that's only because you are not paying attention to what's happening before your very eyes, and because you are unable to put any of this in any historical context. 

Government revenues have been drastically reduced over the years by slews of tax breaks given to the wealthy and the corporations. If you were paying attention, you'd see that, because the numbers are readily available.

This reduction in funding has made it more difficult for the government to do the things it needs to do to help people like us. Meanwhile, the rich continue to demand more and more from us to offset these shortfalls caused by their failure to pay their fair share. 

Emboldened,  they will soon be coming after your Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, things they erroneously blame for our problems. This attempt to strip us off our money had been ongoing ever since Reagan imposed a tax on our social security. 

Yeah, that's right. Until Reagan initiated it, your social security was not taxable. 

That's just one small example of how they steal from the poor and give to the rich. Evidence of this is readily available: a few of the wealthiest people in the country possess more wealth than the BOTTOM HALF of the country. 

That's obscene. 

Putting businessmen in charge of government is never a good idea. Government is not about profit and it can not ever be about profit. It has to be about improving people's lives. 

And this is a concept that people like Donald Trump and his buddies will never understand. To them, it's all about chasing the last dime, and if people get hurt, well, screw 'em.

That's no way to run a government, folks. That's how you run a business, where people are expendable and only valuable to you for how much money they can make you. Can't make you money? Fire 'em!

In the United States, government is BY the people, FOR the people. Those politicians you love to bad-mouth are Americans, too. Yes, some of them have likely been corrupted by wealth and/or power, but there are others out there trying to do the right things and help the people they represent. Like any other group of human beings, there are good ones and bad ones. 

I encourage you to find the good people who stand for you and vote for them. Learn the difference between fact and fiction. Stand for what is right and hold your representatives to that same standard. 

Let's work together to make government work for us all once again.