With a plethora of possible rants to choose from — hurricanes, North Korea and tax reform among them — today I have chosen immigration, primarily because of President Trump’s announcement that he would phase out the DACA program initiated by President Obama. Now many of you may not even know to what this latest government and media acronym refers. Let me enlighten you.
DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. It mandates a Department of Homeland Security administrative function. Implemented during the Obama presidency, it allows children that were brought to the United States by undocumented immigrants to be given a two-year renewable deferment and the possibility of a work permit. It was an effort to right a terrible wrong against children.
The understanding was that children had no choice in their immigration to the U.S. Their parents brought them whether they wanted to come or not. Now, after ...
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I’m angry. We live in a republic. Now, I know a lot of you are going to interject and say we live in a democracy, but you would be wrong. Go find the definition on your own if you don’t understand the difference. I don’t have time here to teach you because, frankly, I’m more than a bit upset with our Senator, Marco Rubio, and his inability to live up to the most basic part of a republic. The basic premise is that HE is supposed to do the research and gather the information before he takes a vote representing us. He seems incapable of doing so even in the simplest of tasks. He just hangs onto and parrots party dogma and propaganda as truth. Then he uses the line of false rhetoric to justify his votes on OUR behalf.
Case in point: I’ve just watched his video wherein he ...
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It’s been 100 days of unrelenting ignorance, stupidity, drama and comedy. And, no, I am not talking about the new Netflix season. This is about the tenure of Donald Trump as President of the United States. Probably the only thing that distresses me more than the possibility that we may have to put up with this failure of a human being for four years – perhaps eight! – is his strong, continued support of the voters who elected him. The man said he wanted to disrupt Washington if he got elected, and by any measure he has succeeded in that. But there is a large difference between constructive demolition and ignorant destruction. His actions thus far confirm we can safely assume he is capable only of the latter. This random, oblivious obliteration of traditions, constructs, policies and procedures was expected by most Americans who went to the polls. What else ...
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By Richard Hébert
Excuse me, Mr. Trumpster. Are you accusing me of being an “enemy of the American people”? You have done it over and over again this past week or so, seemingly seizing every public opportunity to heap scorn on what I always considered a noble profession dedicated to the public good.
For me, sir, this is personal. I take great umbrage at your flippant scorn. But more than that, we of the press are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. We are the “Fourth Estate.” Our mission as the eyes and ears of the public watching every step you make is protected by the Constitution’s Bill of Rights, the First Amendment of that founding document. That, sir, is no small matter. When you malign and attack us, you malign and attack the U.S. Constitution.
Yes, I confess: I’m a member of the news media you so enjoy maligning ...
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I’ve never believed in protest marches. Too often, a march seems only a physical manifestation of an idea of which we are already aware. More often than participants want to admit, it’s simply a ragtag group of fringe activists shouting at the moon, holding up traffic, or occupying street corners that would be better used for public conveyance. The marches themselves seem disorganized, rambling, and end with rhetoric that does nothing but allow participants to vent built-up frustrations and schedule another protest. They are great for getting mom, uncle Bob, and your freaky aunt Matilda out of the house so we can catch up on some “honey-do list” projects. That they return home refreshed with a lot of positive energy is a bonus, I suppose, but I have seen little more beneficial effect than that.
Not that I am against marches or protests. Believe me, I like a good walk, ...
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