Undocumented immigrants

The Times News, our local newspaper, printed a letter from a guy who had his knickers in a twist because an article used the term “undocumented immigrants.”  He wanted them called “illegal,” and went on at some length at how the term “undocumented” was buying into left-wing propaganda.

First of all, I don’t think a person can be illegal.  Acts of a person can be illegal, but can an individual actually be an “illegal” person"? 

Secondly, what kind of a man has that much hate inside him that he would be concerned about labels?  Why not worry about families separated?  Or children being deported?  Or citizens detained illegally?  Or people put into “detention centers” with bad food and no medical treatment?  Or people getting shot and killed by ICE?  

And he’s worried about the nomenclature?  What an ass.

Nationalize Starlink

Suppose Elon Musk produced some atomic weapons.  He already has the ability to put things into orbit, so if he did produce atomic weaponry, he’d have delivery capability.  Could he develop atomic weapons?  Of course he could.  He has a trillion dollars.  He can buy elections.  

If he did produce atomic bombs, would he be allowed to keep them?  Could he build an aircraft carrier, or start his own army?  I don’t think so, but somehow he has developed a program called “Starlink” that our ally Ukraine was using to track incoming Russian drones.  Now he has decided to pull the plug and deny that service to Ukraine.

One private citizen is now making foreign policy.  Or was he asked to do that by Trump?  We don’t have any clear lines of responsibility.  This is no way to run a government or a foreign policy.  And while we are at it, why is a private individual allowed to run his own space program?

We need to put controls on Musk, and we need to do it now.

Note:  You thought ICE came to my house last night and grabbed me and I wasn’t able to post.  Sorry, but no.  I was processing my hot peppers and time slipped away. 

That whirring sound you hear

That’s Ronald Reagan, the President who famously uttered the words “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” spinning in his grave.  The President who said “trust, but verify.”  That guy.

Then there was President George Bush, who, when Saddam Hussein seized Kuwait, put together a coalition of over 30 nations and rolled back the Iraqi aggression. 

Yes, I can remember Republican Presidents who stood up for national sovereignty and opposed dictatorial governments.  This one now says, “Comrade Putin, feel free to seize Ukraine.  We will even help you do it.”

"They want to cut your children"

“Six states, I mean, they could do whatever they want and they do.  Your son leaves as Jimmy.  And comes back home in three days as Janet.  And they don’t even ask you.  Most people don’t believe that, you know, they think it’s like, an exaggeration.  It’s not.”

–United States President Donald J. Trump

This is beyond a lie.  It is total bullshit. 

Remember the old saying?  A lie travels seven leagues while truth is still pulling on its boots.

Here’s the truth.  No American school has sent out a child for gender reassignment. Not one.  No school has performed gender reassignment surgery in a school.  Not one.

On the other hand, so far in this century, hundreds of children have come out of schools in body bags.  Hundreds.

Another letter to the President

President Donald Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington D.C. 20500

Dear Sir:

I received a letter today over your signature explaining that I am receiving a payment of $90.00.  Since you signed the letter I assume you paid for this out of your own pocket.  Sir, I thank you so much, sir.

I will put the money to good use.  I am adding $10 of my own money and then sending a check to James Talarico.  It won’t match the hundreds of millions that Mr. Elon Musk is putting into races around the country, but it is the best I can do at this time.  And $100 is so much better than the $10 I had originally intended to send.

I also don’t want to appear greedy, but if you would like to send me another $90, I could forward that amount to Abdul El-Sayed.

Sincerely, and thanks again, sir,

Roy Christman

Worse than Neville Chamberlain

In an opinion piece today Thomas Friedman compared Donald Trump to Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister who went to Munich and gave Hitler a piece of Czechoslovakia, an act which led Hitler to believe he could get away with further aggression.  As Friedman pointed out, Chamberlain at least was trying to achieve peace.

Trump’s betrayal of Ukraine and Zelenskyy has a different purpose.  It is to lower diesel fuel to help a few Republican congress members win their elections.  It is the complete betrayal of a democratic ally, and harms a nation we were pledged to protect in return for it giving up its nuclear weapons.

It gets worse.  Just as Chamberlain led Hitler to an awareness of the weakness of Britain and France, Trump’s actions will encourage further aggression by Russian and perhaps China.  There is a term for giving “aid and comfort” to an enemy.

Has your life gotten better recently?

I’d like to ask all those MAGA people how the deportation by ICE of all those “illegals” has improved their lives.  I know that jobs have opened up in meat packing plants, in certain construction industries, in senior care homes, and in California lettuce fields, but I’m not sure how many MAGA types have rushed to fill them.

If inflation has gone down, or data center construction has been reduced, or the war with Iran has been won, or our alliances have been strengthened, or our mass shootings have been ended, I am unaware of that.  Are we a stronger country?  Are we a more decent country?  A more moral and just country?  No, and no, and no.

We have become a cruel and evil country.  One nation, under God, with cruelty for people who live among us.  

Today was a day for a rally urging people to vote.  That isn’t enough.  If you vote for enablers like Mackenzie or Susan Collins or any Republican Senate or House candidate, you are complicit with ICE and all it is doing.