Short Bursts<\/p>\n
just a few sentences on issues today.<\/p>\n
Sins of the Fathers<\/p>\n
We have many traditions in this country. One is that we believe that the \u201csins of the father\u201d should not be visited upon the son. This is enshrined in the US Consitution which states that no \u201ccorruption of blood\u201d could be punishment for treason (Art III, Section 3, Part 2.) Corruption of blood is the punishment of the family for the parent\u2019s ultimate crime against the state, treason.<\/p>\n
Dreamers are children of illegal immigrants. Illegal immigration is also a crime \u201cagainst the state,\u201d though nowhere near as terrible as treason. Dreamers were brought to the United States as children. They had no choice in this \u201ccrime.\u201d If they had been born in the US, there would be no question of their citizenship. They would be \u201cborn under the flag,\u201d born under US jurisdiction and therefore automatic US citizens (some would use that incredibly demeaning phrase of the last election, “anchor baby’.) Since Dreamers were not born \u201cunder the flag,\u201d they were and are technically illegal immigrants, subject to possible deportation.<\/p>\n
Children: unable to legally speak for themselves. Children: raised \u201cAmerican,\u201d and who have known no other home. Children: innocent of the sins of their parents. Dreamers are Americans in every way but paper, and America should treat them as such. No matter what your view about what should happen to those who illegally entered this country, this should be different. For this particular class of Americans there should be a quick path to citizenship, to the full rights of Americans. They have no other home, and they already are American in every other way.<\/p>\n
Riders on the Storm<\/p>\n
We have discovered that President Trump and others are using the disaster of Hurricane Harvey as a \u201ccover\u201d for other actions. Trump admitted as much when he said that he pardoned former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Friday night as the storm made landfall, because he knew that \u201cthe ratings would be high.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, both Vice President Pence and Texas Congressman John Culberson used the Harvey disaster as an excuse to avoid discussing the possible end of the DACA (Dreamers) program. Trump documented his order to ban military service by transgender persons, and fired Sebastian Gorka (not all bad that one) all under the literal clouds of Harvey.<\/p>\n
As the folks in Texas face this, it seems inappropriate to use the overwhelming catastrophe as \u201ccover.\u201d \u201cLets slip this by, no one will notice it hidden in the storm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Who Can Fix This<\/p>\n
Several years ago my parents Florida condo was seriously damaged by a hurricane, along with many other places along the barrier islands. \u00a0Roofs were gone, walls moldy, carpets and furniture ruined.<\/p>\n
There \u00a0wasn’t enough construction labor in Florida to even begin to deal with the problems. \u00a0My parents condominium association made an offer: \u00a0allow migrants to live in your damaged home and they will fix it and others, faster.<\/p>\n
Were they legal or illegal immigrants? \u00a0That question wasn’t asked. \u00a0These Honduran and Guatemalan workers camped in the damaged homes, cooking re-fried beans, drinking cerveza; and repairing walls, ceilings and roofs. \u00a0They got the job done quickly and with high quality.<\/p>\n
My parents moved back into their condo six months later, years before they could have done so if they had waited for existing contractors. \u00a0Mike Rowe, famous “Dirty Jobs” actor and pitchman for vocational education, spoke today about who might fix the hundreds of thousands of homes damaged or destroyed in Harvey. \u00a0There was already a shortage of construction labor in the Southeast, and particularly Texas, before Harvey.<\/p>\n
We don’t need to build a wall, we need to bring in the labor to rebuild ALL of the walls.<\/p>\n
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