CRUELTY AND BEYOND

by Ruth A. Sheets

May 21, 2020



I just finished reading an article that made me say “enough!”  It seems ICE is making an appalling  choice available to immigrant mothers in detention, a kind of Sophy’s choice.  This time if a mother gives up her children to ICE, they can be taken from the detention/internment camp.  If she does not agree, the child or children will remain in detention and potentially suffer with her the ravages of COVID19.  There is simply no language to describe the cruelty of this and the inhumanity of anyone who would offer it. 



The families being given this choice are innocent of anything but wanting to escape violence and poverty in their home countries.  They came here for refuge and safety and get cruelty beyond belief.



What is going on here?  Who is it that gave ICE either permission or the order to commit these acts of inhumanity, and in our name?  This unnecessary agency is under the Department of Homeland Security and is the knee-jerk response to 9/11.  How the agency morphed from protecting us from terrorists to destroying families is a long troubled trail of agony and injustice.



ICE was clearly active during the Bush and Obama administrations, but it became virulent, malignant under the current administration.  Mr. Trump has made no secret of his hatred for anyone who is not rich, white, straight, and male.  For most of us who don’t fit that category, it has meant cuts in funding for necessary services and infrastructure maintenance.  It has meant obstruction to voting, increased pollution in areas where we live, dismissal of the needs of front-line workers and more.  For immigrants, asylum-seekers, refugees, and undocumented persons it has meant criminalization, imprisonment, concentration camps, separation of children from their parents with no paper trail, unwarranted deportations, and more.  It  has meant that anyone seeking our help is condemned to Mexico’s Northern border where those already suffering and stressed people are preyed on by actual criminals.  They face rape, murder, enslavement, and other agonies for no apparent benefit to this country. 



So, what is going on?  Here is my theory.  Immigrants are coming to fill the place African-Americans, Jews, Irish, and other hated groups once held.  African-Americans and Latinx persons still are in the ranks of the hated.  But, there is now more attention placed on the brutalities they have faced and continue to face, so white straight men wanted a new target, one a little less prominent and present in our society.  They needed a target they could readily convince a lot of privileged white people to hate and blame for all their ills. 



Dumping folks into concentration camps with no reporters allowed to know what conditions are like inside has emboldened the current administration to approve atrocities that would most likely not be permitted to occur if the victims were white.  It has been easy to call these mothers and children criminals.  This makes whatever is done to them OK with the rich and wannabe rich white people who are far removed from the suffering and are encouraged to believe these folks are the cause of all their woes.



Of course, the immigrants, asylum-seekers, refugees, and undocumented persons are not the cause of white problems, but are often conveniently, the vehicle for easing their worries.  These people often work the fields, living in conditions none of the privileged would allow their pets to live in.  The white privileged eat the food they pick, though.  These immigrants et al work the meat processing plants under outrageous conditions that allowed COVID19 to spread unchecked.  The privileged eat the meat and cheer on Mr. Trump’s order that the plants start up again no matter the risk to the workers. 



Perhaps this treatment is the new lynching.  It is not as brutal as was done to African-Americans nor as public, but it does produce fear, intimidation, pain, and often, death.  In addition, a lot of Republican politicians benefit from the hate they spew and the pain they cause.  They get elected by the people they have injected with anger toward and hatred and fear of the “foreigner.” 



How has the United States permitted this cruelty?  Why are so many Americans willing to stand by while the cruelty sprouts up around us and grows with the sunshine and water of hatred and fear.  Are we really so frightened?  Are these mothers and children truly a threat to us?  Are those farm and processing plant workers so threatening that we have to force them to work under whatever conditions the bosses decide are right for them?



When do we as a nation say “enough?”  When do we declare that we are better than that and work to change it?  When do we start living the words of the “Declaration of Independence” that all men (people) are created equal?  Is it so hard to believe that other people are of as much value as we are and we are of as much value as all others?  Clearly it is. 



We can’t change Mr. Trump and his gang.  I suspect they have been cultivating their belief in their own superiority for so long they won’t/can’t change.  The only way to  deal with them is to vote them out of office and ditch their fearmongering as the garbage it is. 



We also need to work on ourselves to be sure we are not dismissing others because they don’t look or act like us.  Do we respond when we hear of inhumane treatment of others?  Do we call people out when they make comments that are not only inappropriate, but hurtful to others?  Do we promote peace?  If we do not, perhaps, we need to make some changes in our own lives so we don’t keep moving down the slippery slope toward accepting things as they are, cruelty and all. 



A first step might be to ask ourselves if we would be OK with someone offering us the choice the imprisoned immigrant mothers have been given.  Would we give up our infants to strangers so those in power could do to us whatever their corrupt minds could manufacture?  If our answer is “no,” the answer should be “no” for everyone else too.  If we can’t get to that place, we need to do some heavy lifting to rework our values and re-examine our beliefs about humanity and our place in it.  An election is coming up in November.  Let’s pledge to take the necessary steps to end the cruelty. 

CHANGE OF FUTURE

by Ruth A. Sheets

We need a very different future than was on the drawing board before COVID19 hit.  Our representatives and fellow Americans need to take a variety of actions to change the trajectory of this nation and the world.  COVID19 has clearly pointed out problems our leaders have chosen to ignore in the past.  The time of ignorance is now gone and we must step up to meet the challenges facing us.

The following are some actions we can take to reshape the future in ways that will benefit everyone.

1. Global warming will move front and center in our thinking and every action.
a. we must become less of a super consumer society and more a reduce, reuse, and recycle kind of folks, with recycling plants all over the place.
b. Everyone will need solar panels and electric vehicles should become the standard.
c. Burning coal, except at limited levels will be outlawed,
d. Massive funding of renewable energy sources will take place, like the “man on the moon” efforts of the 1960s.

2. The flora and fauna that share our planet will have a more prominent place in our thinking and planning.  –

3. Our oceans must stop being our dumping place and our places for drilling and destruction.

4. Health care in this nation should be universal and supervised by the government.  No one should be making money on the suffering of others beyond salaries and general expenses.

5. Education should be funded at levels sufficient to provide children and young adults with the knowledge they will need to effectively maintain a career, participate actively in the life of the community in which they live, and be active informed citizens in the society.

6. The United States Postal Service, which is called for in the Constitution should be appropriately funded and should be able to perform basic banking  activities, particularly for lower income persons who may not be able to afford a bank.

7. Our prison system needs to be revamped so rehabilitation and treatment are the goals rather than just hiding away people of color in private for profit institutions.  No prison should be run by any entity but the local, state, or federal government who sentenced the prisoners.

8. Immigration will be addressed.  We need the general public to understand that refugees would not
be leaving their homes unless circumstances forced them to do so.
a. There should be a path to citizenship for all who were brought to or came to this country as children and it should not cost them a fortune.
b. The detention/concentration camps for immigrants will be closed and those imprisoned in them will be quickly and properly processed, most allowed to stay here.
c. Anyone who is a parent of US citizen children should have a path to citizenship too so they can stay and provide for those children.
d. In short, deportations need to stop.
e. Bans on citizens of other nations unless we are specifically at war with that nation or face a pandemic must stop permanently and not be allowed to be manipulated by a president or political party for its own edification.

9. Voting at all levels should involve automatic registration upon reaching 18 and mail-in options for anyone who chooses that, particularly during a natural disaster.
a. Voting security will be a priority.
b. voter suppression and gerrymandering will be permanently disallowed.  

10. Congressional procedures must change.
a. No one person in Congress should be able to block all legislation and votes on issues critical to the people of the nation and use extortion as Mr. McConnell has done for the past 5 years.
b. There should be a 60 vote majority in the Senate or a +5 votes to the number of senators in the majority to approve anyone for a lifetime appointment to a court.
c. Lobbyists must be removed from central positions in our government and lobbying should be a volunteer activity in which no favors or gifts can be passed to or from government officials.  Corporations and individuals with huge money pots should not be able to have more governmental influence than less wealthy individuals and groups.

11.  -Women and men will be legally recognized as equals and people will be respected and heard no matter their race, age, gender, LGTB status, political party, or any other factor.
a. Women will have the right to choose what happens to their own bodies
b. All kinds of reproductive health care will be available to all persons on request, including contraception and pregnancy services.  
c. LGTBQ citizens will have the full rights of any citizen without exception.
d. A committee will be assembled to begin addressing issues of reparation for African-Americans related to slavery and the racism that followed.

12. Workers will have basic rights and a living wage through a “workers’ bill of rights which will include paid sick leave, child care, and other needed services and protections.

13. Taxes on the wealthiest will be considerably higher than pre-COVID19, after companies are up and running and workers are back on the job, perhaps, a 2-year window after the crisis is past).

14. We will become more prepared for everything including natural disasters, pandemics, and more through appropriate funding.

15. We need to employ experts to get these actions going and share findings with everyone who can help.

16. We need to set ethical standards for whom we will nominate for public office and hold them to those standards.  The “lesser of two evils” should no longer be an acceptable means for judging a person’s ability to govern.  This one can’t be legislated, but it can be promoted through all media.

17. Dividers among us need to take a back seat for a while so others can succeed in bringing us together to accomplish this work.

This is an ambitious agenda, but we will need an ambitious agenda if we are to have a prosperous nation and a livable world, and we are running out of time to get this going.  This time of “sheltering in place” may give us all time to think about how we will live the next few years, what kind of world we will leave our children and grandchildren, what kind of people we will become through and beyond this crisis.  We have the time, let’s use it wisely.

WHEN EVIL STALKS

by Ruth A. Sheets

Evil does not just happen.  It has a cause (and it is not Satan).  The cause is human action and occasionally mental illness.  I dismiss mental illness here because of its limited impact.

The evil I want to discuss is the creeping evil that starts relatively small, then grows as it is nurtured.  Spouse abusers don't start their relationship by one partner beating up the other.  If so, the relationship, unless it is a forced marriage, would stop right there.  The future abuser begins with charm, laughter, joking, to entice the victim into complacency.  If the future abuser slips and commits some violence, there is always a quick apology and promise it won't happen again.  Over time the future abuser divides the spouse from family and friends, isolates the partner, and increases the violence/abuse.

I suggest, as others probably have, the Trump administration is like the spouse abuser, but on a larger scale.  Mr. Trump started out as a barely functioning real estate guy.  He had lots of money from Dad and a big mouth.  He associated with high-profile people and made sure he stayed in the public eye, a kind of fun guy.

Some people around him saw that Mr. Trump liked power, obtained with as little effort as possible.  He published a book that he didn't write.  The book, for some who wanted to make a name for themselves in business, won fans to this deal-making genius.  Mr. Trump went through bankruptcy numerous times (some say 4, others say 6), and each time he came out losing very little.  Everyone else involved took the hit.  The explanation, "It wasn't my fault and I'm only using the tools the Government permits."  His reputation didn't suffer with anyone who mattered.  The abused were powerless to do anything.

Mr. Trump was given a reality show where he strutted around, yelling "You're fired!" no more was necessary, and won a whole new fan base.  He had little to do with the show except come in at the end and look like a CEO.  As always, other people did all the work while his name kept getting bigger.  Who cares about the "fired" ones.  It was all about Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump had his eye on politics for a long time.  He shaped his "beliefs" to what he thought potential supporters believed.  He realized his best chance for any kind of success would be among conservatives, although it is not clear that he was particularly conservative.  To get onto the political map, during President Obama's administration, Mr. Trump's was the voice in the background trying to undermine policies.  He made outrageous claims like that Mr. Obama was not born in the United States, and    that Mr. Obama was a Muslim, (he isn't, but who cares if he were).  Both were carefully designed to show Mr. Obama was not a legitimate president or even American, not like us.  Mr. Trump's prestige  grew.

The evil dripped slowly, albeit loudly; it was spreading into the national discourse.  The whole thing might have been stopped then if the media had unanimously agreed not to cover ANY birther BS, but instead, they amplified it.  That is exactly what Mr. Trump needed to launch his presidential bid.

Mr. Trump had no political experience whatsoever, but claimed he was an amazing businessman, a lie, of course, but his fans didn't care.  They were getting used to his lies and even reveled in them.  As his campaign progressed, Mr. Trump used the co-opted the media, all of it.  it didn't matter what he said or did not say. the media was on board.  And, if they wrote or said anything that did not speak of Mr. Trump in the most glowing terms, he called them fake or claimed the "election is rigged."

Mr. Trump  surrounded himself with people who knew how to make use of his name recognition and media attention.   every word Mr. Trump said was recorded and shared.  The media was by then afraid to use the word "lie." even though much of what Mr. Trump said was untrue. Hardly challenged, Mr. Trump's followers swallowed the lies as facts.  This too was planned by Mr. Trump's handlers.  To them, Mr. Trump presented himself as a strong man who would cut through the crap in Washington and "drain the swamp."  When asked to explain, he was vague and dismissive, knowing it was all just talk. 

He bullied his way through the Republican primaries and debates.  By this point, Mr. Trump was like a runaway freight train.  His fans, people who think they like "strong" men set themselves on his path permitting no deviation.  When interviewed (which was often), Mr. Trump's followers could only say. "He says what he thinks and he'll do what he promises."  They could rarely identify which things they liked about his plan, probably because there was little substance to it.

Mr. Trump tried out his racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic statements on his campaign crowds to see which would work.  If the crowd cheered, the comments stayed in, if not they were gone until they could be reworked to be more acceptable.

Mr. Trump tapped into America's deep racist streak.  Some whites looked at the world and perhaps, for the first time, noticed that white is a minority (as is every other group).  Mr. Trump spoke to their fears, telling them he would fix things for them since it was those people who were the source of all their righteous woes.

Evangelical Christians were co-opted too.  As crazy as this sounds, it shows how easily evil can creep into communities where people might otherwise stand against it.  Evangelicals perhaps thought of Mr. Trump as a work in progress.  They excused him of everything they would never have permitted in a member of their community.  They dismissed true people of faith as unworthy

So, Mr. Trump was elected with lots of help, small and large drops of evil that buoyed him up.  He didn't win the popular vote (by nearly 3 million votes), but that was in some way a boon for him too.  He could use that to  distract the country from the small evils he would perpetrate.  The Russia investigation, a feud with the FBI, nomination of incompetent, inappropriate, often evil people for all positions in the government would hide the actual dismantling of the government and the programs that supported the American people.

Mr. Trump, by the second year of his term, had pulled in the majority of the Republican leadership.  They too have capitulated, gradually, but inexorably.  Nearly anything Mr. Trump wants, they will agree to with few exceptions, that is until now.

Immigration has been a point of contention for Mr. Trump and his followers for years.  He began his campaign by accusing Mexicans who come here of being rapists.  He has tried to ban Muslims and for no reason except that he can, he tried to stop the "Dreamer" program )DACA), only temporarily halted by the courts.  He stepped up deportations, taking people who have families here to support, who have been here for decades and who have made positive impacts on their communities.  He wants a ridiculous wall and kept claiming it would be higher and higher, as if that would stop desperate people.

In April, he started separating children as young as one year old from their parents at the southern border (as a deterrent), with no specific plans to reunite them.  Children were sent to "baby jails" (now euphemistically called "Tender Age Shelters).  They are cages where children are held without their parents.  Mr. Trump hoped no one would notice, and at first few did.  To date, nearly 25400 children have been separated and taken away.  Mr. Trump makes a lot of claims about the children which sound a lot like the claims about Jewish children made by some Germans in the 1930s, like "they're an infection."  Alas, for Mr. Trump and his evil team, people did take notice and actually stood up to stop it.  Mr. Trump finally signed an executive order to stop stealing the children from their parents, but neglected to say how those already stolen would be reunited.  The order allows establishment of family jails to take the place of the baby jails.  Amazing!  Beware, though, we will all pay for this in some way.  The machine of evil is whirring on and it is guaranteed something currently off the radar will come to bite us or someone else while we are focused on this cruelty.  A man like Mr. Trump who has lied and cheated his way into power will not stop just because he has been checked.  Watch for it!

Hypocricans in Fine Form

by Ruth A. Sheets

It is not possible to overestimate the fear and loathing projected by the Hypocricans in Congress these days.  This week they have stepped up their efforts to eliminate women’s right to choose.  They also continued their assault on the poorest among us.  Their terror of immigrants, particularly those from Mexico and points south raised its head again.

The Hypocricans in the House of Representatives voted to outlaw abortions at 20 weeks gestation, criminalizing women who choose to terminate pregnancy beyond that point.  Some didn’t even want to make exceptions for rape, incest or health of the mother.  Do these mostly white men really care that much for the offspring of those pregnancies?  Not really.  If they did, these same Hypocricans would not have voted to lower funding for the food stamp program.  One would think they would be increasing all kinds of support to families in poverty.  They would at least double the money for family planning and contraception to keep such unwanted pregnancies at a minimum. 

So what is going on here?  You know!  The war on women progresses.

Hypocricans say they are fiscal conservatives.  That is an interesting claim.  Let’s check it out.

Just so they don’t have to pay for food stamps and other programs to support folks in poverty, they will continue direct payments to farmers, even if they don’t grow anything.  How do these things connect?  Well, the Farm Bill was up for a vote this week.  The Democrats, against their better judgment, compromised to lower payments for food stamps a little.  It wasn’t enough for the Hypocricans, who rejected the whole bill.  This means that the current farm subsidies will remain in place, money not spent wisely.  Hypocricans couldn’t stick it to those lazy poor people, so the whole bill goes down.

Next these “fiscal conservatives” pinned an amendment to the immigration bill demanding a level  of border security impossible to achieve.  This will cost billions of dollars.  Even though few immigrants are coming from Mexico these days, the proposal is to double the number of border guards and build more fences.  Their fear of the Latinos is evident since there is no proposal for fences and walls on our border with Canada.   Hypocricans then tie the “path to citizenship” for undocumented immigrants to the insane border requirements.  The Hypocricans actually believe in their heart of hearts that such blatant racism will win them Latino votes.  Really!

The scary part for me is that a lot of Americans support the Hypocricans.  Fear and loathing are such easy emotions and can be mined at little cost.  It takes little effort to convince people that someone is out to get what they have.  With facility, people can be persuaded that danger is around every corner, that evil lurks behind every door.   Who is presenting these threats:  women who want control over their own bodies, people sneaking over the border, indolent poor who prey on the rich.  And, of course, we all must be protected from them.

Perhaps, instead of the witch hunts they are instituting, Hypocricans should look in the mirror to find the evil they seek.

Immigration Reform – It’s Time. It’s Fair.

by Ruth A Sheets

I just watched the new documentary film “Dream Now.”  Four young immigrants who were brought to America by parents when they were children are now hoping to make a place for themselves in their new country.  The problem, of course, their parents came here illegally.

Supposedly, there will be a vote in Congress this week, described as “massive immigration reform” and “a complete overhaul of immigration.”  I suspect that neither is an accurate description.

The folks in power, and many Americans in general, want to be sure that anyone who came here without permission will have to pay, hopefully for the rest of their lives for their criminal invasion of our precious shores.  We can’t have amnesty because that will lead more undesirables to come here.

In the past decade or so, since this has again become such a huge issue, I have heard people complain that illegal immigrants didn’t wait in line to come here as they should have. Those illegals who are here should go back where they came from and get in line like everyone else.

What a bunch of nonsense!  The people “back home” who did get permission were

often folks who knew someone who knew someone who could get them in.  Does that make them more worthy than someone who braves the Arizona desert to make a better life for themselves and their family? 

Marco Rubio, Senator from Florida has set himself up as some kind of champion for immigration.  However, he wants to make it as close to impossible for people who are undocumented to become citizens.  The hypocrisy is that Mr. Rubio is a member of the priviledged class, the anti-Castro element from Cuba who have had a red carpet path right from the island to American citizenship.  Are the Cuban immigrants more worthy than the Chinese immigrant who thought she was coming here for a decent life and found herself illegal when she arrived?

We are obsessed with building and maintaining the fense across our Mexican border.  Why are we so frightened of our neighbors to the south?  The terrorists who perpetrated 911 did not come through Mexico. 

I don’t believe we can be reminded often enough that this is a nation of immigrants.  All of us are immigrants, even the Native Americans who came 20,000 years ago.  Most of our ancestors did not come here “with permission.”  Many were brought here in chains as either slaves or prisoners.  Others snuck in on ships or planes.  Many came through Ellis Island, sometimes the result of an arbitrary decision by a sympathetic official.      

 

What do these folks have in common?  They and their descendants who still live here are Americans  and share some common values and practices.  They work to make better lives for their families.  They want their children to have better opportunities than they have had. 

Guess what? The undocumented immigrants want the same things.  They, too, want to be part of this crazy, wild, sometimes out-of-control experiment that is The United States of America.  Let’s make it possible for them to do so.  Set up a five-your waiting period when the adults can learn about our history and government, pay taxes, commit to this nation.  Their children should be able to become citizens within 2 years so they can help their parents earn the money necessary to pay the fees which Congress will surely require.

Let’s get over the fear that the “illegal immigrants will take all our jobs and leave us unemployed."  It is not the immigrants who will do that.  It is the people who own the businesses that hire as few people as possible, pay as little as they can, and accumulate obscene profits who will do it. but that’s another story.

Overwhelmed

by Ruth A. Sheets

I just checked back and saw that this is near the anniversary of the founding of the leastheardfrom blog.  I also noted that I have not made a contribution to the blog for a few months. That is really pathetic. It is not that I have nothing to say. There is a lot going on that screams for comment.

I realized as I sat down this evening that I am overwhelmed by the avalanche of dislike and disdain that some elements of America have aimed at the vast majority of Americans. 

I had hoped that with the victory of President Obama in November that some civility would seep into the work and rhetoric of Republicans. I  thought they would notice that the country is crying for some degree of unity.  Boy, was I naive!  If anything, the anti-Obama talk and the smear tactics Republicans crafted for 2012 are still in force.  The Republicans are still in “oppose everything” mode.

Sensible gun regulation should be a no-brainer, after the mass killings and the ongoing gun violence.  However, Republicans, along with their NRA handlers are doing their best to see that no changes in gun laws happen.  Well, not exactly, they want more people to own and carry guns, even in our schools.

Immigration reform should have been at the top of the Republican agenda since they received fewer than 30 percent of the Hispanic vote in November.  Nearly four months after being sworn in, this congress still has not even begun to seriously look at the topic. They want more and bigger fences before they do anything for the people involved.

Republicans whine that they are not perpetrating a “war on women.”  They even send their squad of token women out for interviews on shows that claim to present a balanced  view of the issue.  While these women gush that they have everything they need, Republican legislatures are significantly limiting women’s reproductive choice and equal pay. Men in the military are allowed to dismiss cases against convicted rapists, just "because."   

Our Republican “friends” are determined to limit Social Security and Medicare because it supports the folks they refer to as “The Takers” while of course, the Republicans are “The Givers.”  Even President Obama is caving and willing to stop cost of living increases for seniors to placate Republicans who have no intention of allowing the rich to pay their fair share.

The Republican assault on education continues. Vouchers, charter schools, funding cuts all undermine our real public schools. Then, in Atlanta, the teachers who cheated on the state tests so their kids could get more funding and resources were imprisoned with bails that murderers and rapists rarely see.  Isn’t it nice we don’t have to seriously look at the relationship between low scores and poverty?  It’s teachers who are to blame for all that.

Our Supreme Court talks of “racial entitlements” and complains that same-sex marriage is just too new to be ruled on effectively.  They didn’t seem to have any trouble giving the money-soaked corporations opportunities to influence our elections anonymously, calling these corporate players,  “persons.”  What about the real persons who just want their relationships to be recognized?

So, possibly like you, I am overwhelmed.  I am appalled that we taxpayers support Republicans in congress who are not working for us.  They can’t give up cherished biases for the good of the country.  In fact, I suspect that most elected Republicans have no idea what “the common good” is.  The sad part is that I am not sure how much more aware Democrats are.  They too have their handlers for whom they must perform. 

Where does that leave those of us who do know what “the Common Good” means?

 

One-Issue Decision? Not This Year

by muon

I made a list last night of all the issues, off the top of my head, that seem to hinge on this election. I'm sure I forgot something. Here's my list, in no particular order:

Unemployment
Education
Energy independence
Climate change
Renewable energy
Equal pay for women
Middle East, terrorism, war, national security
Healthcare
Women's healthcare, including contraceptives, abortion, and Planned Parenthood
Medicare and Social Security
Immigration
FEMA and crisis management
Infrastructure
Welfare, food stamps, other poverty issues
Science, Arts, PBS
Deficit
Gun control
Citizens United
Supreme Court appointees
Banking/mortgage industry problems
Foreign and Domestic Trade
Wealth imbalance

For all of you still undecided folks out there (if any), really, all you have to do is go down this list and decide who you trust to make policy for you on these issues, at the Presidential, Congressional, State and Local levels. For instance, if you're hit by a natural disaster in the next 4 years, do you want someone who acted the way President Obama, Governor Christie and Mayor Bloomberg acted this week, or say, the way President Bush acted during Hurricane Katrina? Do you want a president who'd shut down FEMA and tell the states to handle disasters themselves, even when their infrastructure is completely compromised?  You might say, oh, but I don't live in a natural disaster prone area. I thought so, too, until Hurricane Sandy.

These issues are the main reasons I'm voting, not only for Obama, but for all the Democrats on my ballot.  I say main reasons because there are others.

I refuse to vote for a party that condones and spreads the blatant lies of its presidential candidate. This week Mitch McConnell and other GOP leaders pressured the independent Congressional Research group to suppress a report showing that tax cuts for the wealthy do nothing to help the economy. I won't vote for anyone who has such a contempt for truth.

GOP leaders have gone out of their way to make voting more difficult this year. Voter ID laws, voter roll purging, laws restricting registration drives, reduced early voting in many states, and intimidation measures aimed at African-American and Latino voters are all forms of voter suppression. For the first time, the UN has sent monitors to the US to observe our elections. I'm not voting for the party that made all this happen.

Legislation in this country shouldn't be influenced by anyone but the voters. Many Democrats are in the pockets of lobbyists as much as Republicans, but the worst offenders right now--the Koch Brothers, Grover Norquist, the NRA, far-right religious fanatics, and Big Oil--are GOP cronies.

So that's the election in a nutshell for me. You're on your own.

So Much for Freedom

by Ruth A. Sheets

The Republican Party likes to get the word out that it is the party of “freedom.”  They also claim that we should be “free” of big government and that government should be out of our lives. 

The party publicists know that the word “freedom” triggers a lot of feelings about America and how special the country is.  It makes their faithful feel patriotic and important.

When one examines their idea of freedom, however, it may cause one to pause a moment to ask for their definition.  No one seems to do that these days, especially the media.  Republicans are delighted because they don’t want people to know what is really going on.

They cry “freedom” when they take away a woman’s right to choose, related to her body and family planning.

They cry “freedom” when they propose laws to eliminate EPA and other forms of regulations that would protect citizens from environmental destruction, pollution, and hostile takeovers.

They cry “freedom” when they pass laws to require photo IDs for a type of voter fraud that doesn’t actually exist in numbers high enough to matter, yet which will disenfranchise the most vulnerable of our voters.

They cry “freedom” when they pass laws that encourage citizens to treat immigrants with disrespect, which can lead to violence, in order to drive the immigrants out – “voluntarily,” of course.

They cry “freedom” when they refuse to consider gun control legislation which could protect citizens as well as law enforcement from folks who have no business having any gun let alone an assault weapon.

They cry “freedom” when they cut funds for education, malign teachers, and take over school districts, claiming they are protecting people from waste or poor teachers.  

This last false cry of “freedom” hits me particularly hard because my district, Chester Upland in Southeastern Pennsylvania has been a target of these education cuts and government takeover.  Our district was handed to our governor’s campaign supporters with no accountability requirements for what happens in the schools which are paid for by taxes yet run by for profit companies, and they do make a lot of profit off the backs of our citizens.

For ten years, Pennsylvania government officials ran our district and left us about 40 million dollars in debt.  They made several charter schools, all but two of which failed badly.  The larger one that still operates skims off the money it wants before the rest of the district gets any funding.  The money goes to them straight from the state capital, and into the pockets of the governor’s Republican friends. 

Again we are living under a takeover.  To make sure that the district cannot be successful, the state legislature has passed a bill essentially turning our district over to Joe Watkins, a powerful Republican, who is a voucher freak and a charter school aficianado.  He has 30 days to make a plan for what will happen to our district – charters, vouchers, or something else.  He knows nothing of our community and the poverty here, yet he will decide our fate in just 30 days.  Our teachers will lose their jobs, our union will be broken, because of course, a charter school can’t have a union.  And with this new “freedom” contracts, dedication, professionalism, and service mean nothing.   .

The deck has been stacked against a whole community in the name of “freedom.”  This reminds me of Orwell’s “1984” when words like freedom meant exactly the opposite.  I am guessing that most Republicans have not read that book and those who have, actually like the premise.   

It feels weird to be fighting against “freedom,” but that’s what we need to do, the Republican brand of freedom.  

Genealogical Inertia: Does It Make You Royalty?

by muon

Paul Ryan: Master of Disguise

The first line of Paul Ryan's bio on his congressional webpage (paid for by your taxes) states "Born and raised in the community of Janesville, Paul Ryan is a fifth-generation Wisconsin native." In fact, everything I've read about him or heard from GOP pundits for the last 24 hours have mentioned the "generation" thing. Well, actually, his Wikipedia page, sourced from Ancestry.com, says he's only 4th generation, but I'm not here to quibble. 4th or 5th, what does it prove about his character except that he was born?

I'm a 2nd and 3rd generation American, and I have to admit, I have nowhere near the strength of character and sheer guts of my original immigrant ancestors. Two of my great-grandmothers came to this country with children in tow, but no man at their side. Imagine leaving your home in the late 19th century, a lone mother with a couple kids, packed into steerage on a slow steamer, for a 2 month voyage with all kinds of strangers, some probably not honorable. Then you arrive, not knowing if someone will meet your ship, or how far you'll have to travel to be reunited with your husband or other family?

Would I have the chutzpah to make that trip? No way. I don't even walk around my neighborhood after dark. The courage of my ancestors boggles my mind. Two generations later, because of the better life those kin made for me, I don't need to be courageous. I've evolved into a marshmallow, whining about things like rush hour traffic.

So what kind of asset is it to be 4th or 5th generation like Paul Ryan? He's pretty far removed from the journey his ancestors made to Wisconsin. I'm not knocking his forebears; they were no doubt as brave as my own ancestors. Yet character is something forged by trial, not inherited like blue eyes. By my own experience, if your family's been in one place longer than other families, it usually means you've had more security and comforts handed down to you.

The Ryans have certainly inherited their share of America's wealth. Not that being rich is a bad thing in itself. But money doesn't bring courage and character. Often the opposite.

I heard this morning that Ryan snuck off for his meeting with Romney "in disguise"--wearing "a T-shirt, blue jeans, sunglasses and a baseball cap." He flew to Hartford and got into a rented SUV. By the next night, he was "eating Applebee's takeout at a nondescript chain hotel..."

So...he was "disguised" as a typical middle-class tourist on summer vacation? (Or, at least, typical until Bush killed the economy in 2008. Now many more people can't take a vacation. They can't afford a plane halfway across the country, and even if they could, they rent economy cars instead of SUVs. They eat off fast food value menus instead of Applebees. They go for cheap mom and pop motels or stay with relatives.)

Yet somehow, we're supposed to be amazed at this trip, as if, for a brief moment, royalty had walked amongst us poor common folk and we missed it. Shucks.

I'm not impressed by Mr. Ryan's claim of being a 5th generation Wisconsonian. Give me an honest immigrant any day over people like Romney and Ryan who act like they think they're born to the throne. We need more courage and character right now than they can muster.

LEGALIZED HATE

by Ruth Sheets

I am  currently listening to an edition of This American Life on NPR.  It describes the results of the recent Alabama immigration law.  The law essentially legalizes the worst aspects of human behavior.  It encourages law enforcement, employers, and non-Hispanic Alabamans to treat their neighbors so badly that they will want to “return” to wherever they came from. 

One woman reported that clerks in a store wouldn’t serve her and another described her experience in church of neighbors not wanting to share the “Peace of Christ” with her.  How Christian of them!  Students, born in Alabama reported harassment by classmates including making them sit in the back of the class.  (Sound familiar?)

I can’t help but think that this now legalizes the hatred that has been so much a part of Alabama life for a couple hundred years.  Before, it was White against Black.  Now, it is about White and other Alabamans against anyone who looks foreign.   

A white state representative, a strong supporter of the bill, told a story about a woman who came to him claiming she couldn’t get a job because illegal immigrants took those jobs.  He said that the drop in unemployment in Alabama was because “illegals” had left the state and employers were now hiring “citizens.”  There is no evidence that his story is true or that the unemployment rate was in any way affected by immigrants leaving the state, but he clearly believes it.

There was no problem regarding immigrants in Alabama before 2010 according to another representative, but Republicans needed an issue that would get them more power.  He claims that the National Republican party chose to “try out some new legislation” in Alabama.  If it worked there, it could work elsewhere. 

It seems that a Republican strategist, Kobach, from Kansas is busy writing laws for states regarding immigration.  He is smart and physically looks like some kind of “superhero,” and he is a manipulator and really proud.  He plays on people’s fears and uses his intelligence to stir up hatred that is already present.

His hatred movement is now spreading to other states, especially those where Republicans currently have power.  His plans are grandiose.   He wants to enlist the aid of state law enforcement on his behalf to drive out “illegals” all over the country if we let him. It’s too bad he didn’t find something  more humane to do with his intelligence.     

The Alabama majority Whip wants to “tweak the bill,” but when asked if he thought Jesus would vote for the new provisions, he admitted “probably not.”

Self-deportation, that’s the way to drive people from America who “don’t belong here.”  So, we can hate people out of this country and be commended for it.  How good of us! 

I suspect that many people from Alabama and other states would like to have done that to their former slaves.  They did drive many of them north.  Passing such restrictive hateful immigration laws lets these “Americans” have an outlet for their frustration.  This frustration may have nothing to do with their immigrant neighbors, but that’s OK, “I am angry and afraid.  And, they’re here.”

TEAM HYPOCRISY - RAH RAH RAH!

by Ruth Sheets

Alabama has passed an ultra anti-immigrant law.  This law calls on citizens to report suspected undocumented immigrants. The children of these immigrants can’t attend school since they don't have a US birth certificate.  No one is allowed to hire any of these people and police officers can pick up anyone whom they feel just might be undocumented.

This law essentially turns neighbors into informants.  It is not necessary to “know” that someone is undocumented if one simply suspects it. 

Police officers become immigration officials.  One wonders how they “know” who is undocumented.  The suspect must just look like someone who is undocumented.  In other settings, that might be called racial profiling

Supporters of this law would shy away from any comparisons to life in Hitler’s Germany or Communist Russia, but this type of turning in a targeted group is not so far removed from those earlier periods in history.

It seems easy to target people whom one considers illegal, who didn’t follow proscribed rules for entering America. However, how many of these supporters come from families whose forebears came here without papers? 

In their attempt to “balance” news coverage, both sides must be represented.  Supporters of the law appear on every show.  I find it interesting how many of these supporters have names that clearly mark them as descendents of immigrants to the US during the last century.  Their parents may have struggled, but did well enough here to give their children significant opportunities they would not have had if they’d remained in their countries of origin.

Why are these 2nd and 3rd generation Americans so unwilling to offer the same opportunities to this century’s immigrants?  Hypocrisy, of course. 

And, to be sure to get other citizens on their side, they accuse immigrants of draining welfare, coming here just to have American citizen children, essentially , stealing America’s bounty.  Why does this apply only to the immigrants of today?  Hypocrisy, of course.

Team Hypocrisy has members all over America, trying to turn Americans into spying, stingy racists, yelling “freedom” and "democracy” but unwilling to extend the blessings of either to others.

"Illegal alien” is the term most often used.  Such terms make those so labeled seem different, deserving of being uprooted and deported even if they have lived here, contributing to  the American dream for many years.

When we deport people, what are we sending them back to?  Do we really care?  Are we so comfortable with ourselves in our righteousness that it doesn’t matter as long as they are gone?

We are a country of immigrants.  Immigrants have made us a great nation and will continue to do so if we step back and see that we can do better.  Our immigrant parents and grandparents would not be pleased to see us doing to a new generation of immigrants what was done to them.

Fellow citizens, let’s take up the challenge to stand bravely against Team Hypocrisy and fight for a more humane immigrant policy.  Let us ignore the calls to act badly toward our immigrant neighbors.  Let us fight against the un-American laws so eagerly being passed and stand with our neighbors who want to live an American dream too.