Tag: politics

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Thinking About Solutions Regarding Immigration

Immigration central to America
Immigration is central to America's history

Looking for Resolution

Recently I saw some security camera footage of an ICE raid at a car wash in Hamden CT.   It reminded me of the continued unsettled issues regarding treatment of immigrants in our country.   We cannot let the status quo ride without resolution.  It is not good for immigrants, and it is not positive for Americans’ feelings about their government agencies either.   Rather than bemoaning or stoking division, we need to look for a solution.

Key Points

I thought about several key and sometimes conflicting points that nevertheless all need to be kept in mind as we look for a way forward.

  • Immigrants are part of the lifeblood of our country.  They provide vital workforce.  They help balance the age demographic to prevent us becoming an aging country like Japan which doesn’t like immigration.  And they are a source of added innovation and brainpower.   They are of great value.   And besides, all of us except native Americans are descendants of immigrants, so it seems rather arrogant to object to the current ones. 
  • It is certainly the right of every country to control its borders. For a long time, our country has not done that very well.  The current emphasis on enhanced border control is long overdue.  And needed also because of increased spying and terrorism risks in today’s world.
  • The Bible instructs us to treat aliens already living among us as if they were native born.  This agrees with the principle of Jesus that we do to others as we would have them do to us.  This norm tempers justice with mercy. 
  • It is essential for every country to have ways to keep track of those who overstay their privileges and call them to accountability.   For decades our nation has done this poorly as well, resulting in many residents whose visas or permits ran out long ago.  Now they have American spouses, children, and business connections that tie them to our country in new ways. 
  • The current punishments where illegals are being separated from families and summarily deported, sometimes without hearings, seems unjust, cruel, capricious,  and in many cases a punishment that does not fit the crime.  It seems like for each case like the one of the Des Moines, Iowa, school superintendent whose fraudulent record was thankfully outed by ICE, there is another like the relatively innocent milkmaid and mother from upstate NY whose sudden departure produced letters of protest from the rural school over grade school students gone from their classroom. 
  • We must acknowledge that ICE is a necessary branch of government.  However, it is getting an unsavory reputation currently which is not a good thing. 

What’s the answer?

So where does all this leave us?  We can’t just wring our hands and declare a political stalemate as Congress and the Executive Branch have done for decades.   What can we do?  To me the solution is not too hard.  We can begin by simply revising the penalties involved. 

What happens to you and me if we violate government regulations?   Do we get ripped away from our family and deported?  Of course not!  Barring complications, we get cited and fined.   And if we fail to cooperate with that legal process, then we immediately become eligible for higher penalties.  

That schema should guide our thinking as to what should happen to immigrants whose only violation is being undocumented.  If there are no complicating circumstances such as criminal records, gang involvement or other security concerns, they should be immediately required to register as our government would require and then subsequently also pay a fine(s) as a penalty for the original transgression.   Then if they do not cooperate with the process, they would become eligible for increasing penalties including jail and deportation as the judge felt appropriate.  Those who do have complicating circumstances would be immediately eligible for higher penalties.  Trying to get rid of illegal immigrants just because we can’t figure out a process for dealing with them is not a viable or responsible option.

Good results

If my concept is pursued, then many good things happen.

We begin to take steps out of the legal no-man’s land that undocumented people are in, bringing undocumented people out of the shadows and registering them with the government.    We treat our immigrants both justly and mercifully.  Through the process, we are able to make an initial crucial determination as to who might be a problem and who a valued asset. Overall, we regain greater respect for our immigration system and for its necessary enforcer, ICE.    

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I’m for Nikki Haley

2024 election button
2024 election button

It’s time for a new conservative leader.

Nikki Haley has distinguished herself as governor from South Carolina and ambassador to the United Nations. I am rooting for her for President this year! We seem to have an issue in our country getting past name recognition. Whoever people are familiar with from TV and the headlines get the vote too easily. Trump and Biden are the current examples. Despite Trump’s early primary victories, I believe Nikki Haley is the better choice for Republicans for several reasons.

First, there is the issue of aging, an issue facing both Democrats and Republicans. Indications from their speeches are that Trump and Biden, like all the rest of us, are not avoiding the inevitable effects of advancing age. Both Trump and Biden are too old for the Presidency. Nikki Haley is a next-generation leader and that is what we need in the White House. Age is one reason one poll showed Haley to be a more formidable opponent for Biden than Trump.

Second, are Trump’s political liabilities. Though he is ever popular with his base, he has shown himself to be a divisive figure in our country overall. In both New Hampshire and South Carolina, polls showed his appeal had concerning limits especially among educated and independent voters. One review from South Carolina said that one fifth of Republicans there said they would not vote for Trump.

Third, Trump’s court entanglements are a major issue. How can voters ignore when a candidate is accused of so many different violations of the law? And some are suggesting that there is a chance he may be convicted of some counts against him. While voters are willing to think that the accusations are political, will they interpret a jury verdict differently? At the very least, the prospective candidate’s time and money would be greatly divided.

Fourth, there is the issue of character. Good character is the first requirement of leadership. Why does Trump have to pressure people like McConnell to endorse him? In my experience, those who voted for Trump before, did so for party loyalty or to support particular issues, overlooking his character issues. By voting for Haley, we can vote for one whose character we respect as well.

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Best political cartoon

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Why I’m not voting for either Trump or Clinton

I protest the 2016 presidential election
I protest the 2016 presidential election

My dilemma

Most people I talk to are agreed — this is the worst presidential election that they ever remember. People aren’t for a candidate, they just hate one less than the other or think one less dangerous than the other. How is a person to decide what to do in this sorry election? Personally, I have decided to protest by not voting for either one. Here is why.

My reasons

1. I recall John Maxwell saying, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” Conservative Christians like me are being urged to vote for Trump because the Republican platform is more to our liking, etc. But if the leader cannot be relied upon to carry out the agenda, the platform is useless. Trump reminds me of a salesman with empty words. He says himself that he tells people what they want to hear. I can’t vote for a man like that.
2. It is time America returned to an emphasis on character in leadership. Neither Clinton nor Trump are people of high character. They are the most distrusted candidates I ever remember. From the moment Trump opened his mouth in debate 1 with a modus operandi of slander, I knew his character was suspect. Normally I am a pragmatist, able to go for the better of two choices. But in this case, neither leader meets the minimum standard of good character.
3. I am not inclined to vote for Clinton to begin with because the strong pro-abortion values she espouses [among others] are not my values. I have great sympathy for immigrant rights, traditionally seen as a Democratic value, and also with the value of helping the poor, but I’m not convinced Clinton would actually work on either one.
4. It is time the parties received a protest vote. It is a protest against the lack of a viable political middle ground in 2016 American politics. It is a protest against the idea that a party can put up some reality show star who has name recognition and expect thinking people to vote for him. It is a protest that says, there is not a candidate offered that I respect enough to vote for them. As a voter, my vote has to have some integrity—some correspondence, some kinship between the values I espouse, the vision I have for my country, and the candidate I vote for.

My protest vote

So what will I do? To not vote, to not participate in the election at all, I consider irresponsible. As a citizen it is my duty to vote. So I will be at the polls, God willing and cast a vote of some kind. I will vote in all the races too. But for the presidential race, I will be writing in the name of a candidate that I consider qualified and of high character. It will be an act of protest against the quality of the two candidates we are offered by the major parties this year.

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Journal News Commentary

Amend the debate process

The fact that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the two least trusted candidates in the primary season, are running as candidates of the major parties shows that the American primary system is not working.   No doubt one of the chief causes is the debate system.  The linked article proposes some good solutions for amending the debate process.   This is the kind of discussion our country needs to be having.   Unfortunately, it looks like we are going to be stuck with one of these two undesirables in 2016.  But if we plan, perhaps we can have a better outcome in 2020.

http://theweek.com/articles/646203/americas-presidential-debates-are-broken-heres-how-fix

 

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The Sad State of Republican Politics

elephant slipping

My least favorite candidates are winning

At the start of the political process leading up to the primaries, I ranked the candidates according to my own ideas about who was the best qualified and most preferable for me.   Unfortunately, and from news reports I am far from alone,  the two people who were at the bottom of my original list are at this point the likely candidates of the two major parties.  And Trump who was at the absolute bottom of the list is the presumed candidate of the party of which I am a registered voter.  Yuck, ten times ugly yuck, gag and puke.  Can you tell yet that I am not a fan of his slander sideshow?

Neither Clinton nor Trump are the person I think should be President

I greatly dislike Clinton’s positions and there are ethical shadows following her too.  Am I alone in such opinions?  Absolutely not.   “Clinton is rich, and morally and ethically corrupt. So is Trump,” writes Jonah Goldberg (http://digitaledition.courant.com/launch.aspx?pbid=e1bdb9a0-d9e0-4569-842b-54331efd8091).

As for Trump, I like Jeb Bush’s reported comment.  Is Trump the kind of person who should be President?    “Donald Trump has not demonstrated that temperament or strength of character,” Jeb Bush said. “And, he is not a consistent conservative. These are all reasons why I cannot support his candidacy” (http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-36234318).   I totally agree.  Trump says what he finds convenient at the moment and has no principles about sticking to his word.

How did we elect Trump to represent Republicans?

I have been reflecting on this.  How does it happen that the grand old party is set to nominate someone that has the highest negative ratings in history, someone with no qualifications for the office, and someone who does not fit the mold of previous candidates morally or culturally in any way?

  1. The primary system was skewed by Trump’s media sideshow.  Stats show that from the beginning, Trump received way more mentions on media that any other candidate of either party did.  He has received interview privileges that even the President does not get.  In the Sunday edition of the Hartford Courant that I referenced, Bill Press on the left and Jonah Goldberg on the right come at the same idea from different angles; the media loves Trump for the show and the attention it gets the media and the public like something exciting and out of the ordinary.  If memory serves, John Kasich in the first debate opined something like, “Come on people, we need someone who knows how to run a government.”  It was what I was thinking as I watched.  Such a common-sense idea was too levelheaded for the media so they quickly dismissed Kasich as petulant and uninteresting.    Never mind that he was right.  Duh!
  2. Americans have been taught in recent years to base their opinions on performance first, rather than character first.  Many years ago colleges washed their hands of any responsibility for the moral and spiritual welfare of their students and focused only on subjects.  One result is we have many graduates with great skills who crash on the job because of ethical failures.   In hiring, interviewers are forbidden to ask questions that might get to the issue of character so companies widely use probational employment periods to see whether an employee  is honest, shows up for work regularly, etc.   The upshot of this downplaying of character is that we apparently now evaluate our political candidates sans character, I guess.  It would be sad if it weren’t actually dangerous.
  3. Many voters are fed up with Congress and career politicians.  The inability of Congress to get things done, the lack of viable compromise, the perpetual national budget mess, and the low moral tone in DC all have led to voters looking toward outsiders like Trump and Carson.  The last Congress had one of the lowest confidence ratings on record.   Part of Sander’s appeal is also his perceived greater independence from the Washington circle.    When career politicians are found to be morally or ethically corrupt, it reduces respect for others, even those who have integrity.
  4. Trump channeled the fear and anger of people in our country in true demagogue style.  Even people who are not racist are worried about the sheer numbers of immigrants.   Since 9/11 Americans find it hard not to be a little suspicious of Muslims.  So Trump’s tactic is working big-time.  But a true leader has an inner moral framework and a long view of history that guide how they approach subjects that divide people like discussions about the US southern border or racism in our country, subjects that evoke fear like immigration from Syria.    I have observed no evidence of such a framework in what Trump says, only a crass trading on the fears and distrusts of the populace for his own benefit.   He shows no long historical view, for example, no sense of the impression of the Republican Party that he is leaving for the future; he seems only to look out for his immediate political windfall.    Never mind that the country is fast becoming a much more multi-cultural place and that the birth rates of immigrants will probably only accelerate that trend.   So if the Republican Party wants to remain viable, it cannot be primarily a party of angry white males and must learn to appeal to the people he is alienating.

What do we do now?

  1. As a Christian, the first thing I am doing is praying for my country.   We believe in the sovereignty of God who rules and overrules, who puts rulers in place and removes them.   So I am praying for my country in this election cycle as never before.
  2. As a voter I am among those who cannot see themselves voting with a clear conscience for either Trump or Clinton.  And I really don’t see that opinion being altered by vice-presidential picks either.
  3. Yet I believe that as a citizen I need to use my vote to express myself.   I, along with others who feel as I do, will be exploring ways to do this.

 

 

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Journal News Commentary

Like the New York Times, I like John Kasich as the GOP choice

The New York Times editorial endorsing John Kasich is well written, timely and to the point.  He is the best choice for the GOP nomination and the most positive and issue-oriented of the GOP candidates.   His record shows concern for the poor.  He has experience both in Washington and as a Governor.  My second choice is Jeb Bush.  While he does not seem to have what it takes as a campaigner, his positions and his record are good.   Trump and Cruz have two things in common, neither of them good.  1. They say whatever  they need to say to get their faithful to cheer; never mind what moderates and independents might think.  2.  By personality types, neither shows compassion or understanding for the poor, the immigrant, or the marginalized in America.    In addition, I cannot imagine either of them in charge of the foreign policy of  this great land.   Either of them would make Obama look like a foreign policy genius.

Here is the link to the New York Times editorial endorsing Kasich as the best option in the field for the GOP.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/opinion/sunday/a-chance-to-reset-the-republican-race.html?_r=0

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Democratic Debate

I must be a fan of underdogs.  As I watched parts of the Democratic Party Debate this evening, I again was most impressed with Governor O’Malley.   Part of it is his record of achievements as Governor of Maryland but part of it is also his leadership ability and the way his words are usually well measured.

Tonight Secretary Clinton seemed to tie herself to President Obama in a way I don’t think she would have done a few months ago.  The apparent success of Iran diplomacy and the current positive employment situation have probably led to that.   She is probably hoping that the old wisdom will hold true.   If the economy is good they say it bodes well for the party in power in the Presidential election and if it is not, they are in trouble.    Personally, I think it unwise for her to tie herself closely to Obama as she heads for the general election as there are many people in the middle who do not like Obama’s record.

Bernie Sanders reminds me of the angry right in the Republican Party.   He is the angry left in the Democratic party raging against Wall Street, the big banks, the 1% and the Super PACS.    His words make for good political rhetoric among the left even as the tirades of Trump and Cruz ignite the far right.

I observed unfortunately that the extreme positions of Republican candidates like Trump create an easy and effective target for the Democrats.   In addition, the tone set by the slanderous in-house bickering and disrespect for the President at the Republican debate compared very unfavorably with the comparatively friendly tone at the Democratic debate.

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Disgusting Debate Dialogue

presidential debate image

Last night’s Republican debate was hard to watch.  It was a steady diet of slander and mudslinging.  If a dirty campaign for President is the goal, Republicans have only to nominate Trump, Cruz or Rubio.  If last night was any indication, they will operate mostly by slam, slander, innuendo and disrespect.  I hate that kind of politics myself.  I already could not stand Trump and he didn’t say anything to change my mind. But the negative argumentative and disrespectful verbiage of Cruz and Rubio directed both toward the President and other debate participants  lowered them both in my opinion.   If you can’t raise yourself by lifting up positive ideas and showing a character that can be admired, I will not respect you.

Governor Kasich continues as my favorite candidate, growing with each debate.  He did not stoop to the mudslinging.   He addressed issues specifically, something Trump has never thought of doing.  Trump can identify issues, which is his strength, but he has yet to propose any solutions.   Governor Christie, while not my favorite candidate, rose in my estimation in this debate.  I especially liked his comment regarding the relative worth of Governors’ records versus Senators’ hot air.   Dr. Carson continued to be a likable bulwark of high values.   I could support him though I don’t think he is sufficiently experienced in economic and national affairs to be President.  He does, however, appear to be able to summon good “experts” as he calls them, something that President Obama has not done well.   Making people choices is one of the chief and most important roles of any leader.

 

 

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Americana Journal News Commentary Who Am I

Migrating left without moving

Observing politics today is disconcerting

It is interesting and very disconcerting to me to observe what has happened in politics over the last ten years or so and what is happening this year.   I used to call myself a conservative Republican, and even voted on the Conservative line often to reflect that leaning.   But in this political cycle I find myself to the left of nearly all the Republican candidates.   I don’t think I have changed much, but in my perception, they have moved decidedly right, becoming more isolationist, out of touch with the poor and more libertarian.

Where am I

I’m still pro-life and pro-traditional family.  I distrust bigger government and prefer conservative constitutional interpretation, all of which are traditional Republican positions.

But I am also pro-immigrant, pro prison reform, pro traditional progressive income tax, pro-minimum wage increase, and concerned about racial justice.  I also supported increasing those included in health care but along with many feel that the result has been disappointing. Today these kind of positions are more often found among Democrats.

Currently, I believe I am somewhere in the middle of the American political spectrum and the current divide between very leftist Democrats and extreme right Republicans is leaving me and many others in the middle without a good political home.

To compound the matter, the poll-leading Republican candidates (Trump, Cruz, and Carson) are my least favorite candidates of the bunch.  Trump is so scary that I would vote for Hillary or Sanders before him.

What is needed

What is needed this year is a bridge-the-gap, common-sense party.  Neither Democrats nor Republicans seem qualified for that right now.