The thing is that things are happening as a result of what Donald Trump says.
Immigrants from Latin America are really suffering. Families are really being
torn apart more often than before and more viciously. Not only that, but the
actions of large numbers of angry, racist, religious bigots are being
encouraged so more hate crimes are being committed now than before. And the
most vulnerable people are terrified. They live in fear. Their lives have been
up ended That's why what he says and does, matters. And this very crazy man
has the power to start a nuclear war right this minute, if he chooses.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Friday, August 04, 2017 5:51 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: President Trump Pushes Yet Another Problematic
Immigration Bill
I'm just not getting all of this attention being paid to Donald Trump's every
utterance. My dad, who never strayed from his roots as a working class man,
began as a laborer digging ditches at the Bremerton Shipyard during the early
years of WW II, and at the last of his working career, was in high demand as a
structural Steel Estimator. Wearing a title, a white shirt, a tie from among
those carefully picked by mother, and only his wits to enable him to survive,
since he was now in the company of men who sneered at any suggestion that they
should Organize. These were those fellows who yearned to live life in the
manner of the boss. They were a surly, snarly, humorless bunch of grumblers
and gripers. They despised the "blue collar" workers, the guys who laughed and
told really bad but funny jokes, and earned a decent wage with time and a half
for overtime, and annual leave and sick leave and a good retirement. And all
of that because they had the good sense to organize and to believe that they
could live a good, fulfilling life without having to act like the boss.
Anyway, dad's work took him back and forth from his office, to the job site, to
the boss's office and to "high level" conferences. These conferences were
along the lines of a DMZ, where all guns were left at the door, and where every
company owner in the steel business gathered to pretend that they were in the
company of great genius. I had the...good fortune to attend a couple of such
high level and secret gatherings. I swear, and I'm not making this up, but I
swear that the room was filled with Donald Trump clones. Seriously! Glad
handing everyone, including me, squinting up in one face after another, giving
toothy grins. And all the time telling every one just how special this meeting
was, and how important that we all work together.
After the conferences dad would usually have to go to the bosses home for a
"debriefing"...a comparison of information and a chance for the boss to tell
someone just what a bunch of crooks and insincere bastards all the other bosses
were. Dad, with a wife and three kids to provide for, could always side step a
bit by saying things like, "I wouldn't turn my back". Of course dad was
including his own boss, but never said so out loud. These were hard swinging,
no holds barred businessmen, looking at the world as a Plum to be plucked.
Getting ahead meant, to these aggressive fellows, doing anything that would
give them an advantage over all the others. And that is Donald Trump.
Raised to believe that if you want it, be man enough to take it...whatever you
must do to win.
In other words, voters sent to the White House a carbon copy of the classic
Capitalist Corporate Executive Officer. Finally, out of the closet for the
first time, a composite of all the endearing qualities that have made America's
corporations so beloved by the nations of the world.
And saddest of all is that there are people who honestly believe that Donald
Trump has a heart and a Soul, and that he is really trying to make life better
for the little folks, if only the big bad government and those Leftists would
give him a chance.
There are those who long to see this president impeached. I am not among that
number. Yes, Donald Trump is a loose cannon, yes he loves the limelight almost
as much as he loves Donald Trump, but I can live with all of that because, in
the dark shadows 'neath the dim lit seller stairs, there lurks a Bogyman, a
creature waiting for his turn to step into the Oval Office and have his turn at
sucking the nation's treasury dry.
And Mike Pence will do it all in the Lord's name!
Carl Jarvis
On 8/4/17, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
One fact: Trump brings in foreign guest labor to do all construction
on his properties which certainly doesn't provide jobs for Americans.
Miriam
Truthdig
President Trump Pushes Yet Another Problematic Immigration Bill
http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/trump_pushes_raise_act_201
70802/
Posted on Aug 2, 2017
President Trump with Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., left, and Sen. David
Perdue, R-Ga., at the White House on Wednesday, unveiling proposed
legislation to place new limits on legal immigration. (Evan Vucci /
AP)
President Trump on Wednesday endorsed a new GOP Senate bill that would
slash legal immigration levels over a decade, apparently aimed at
dramatically reducing legal immigration overall. The bill is a
modified version of legislation
(https://www.cotton.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=765)
proposed in April, which would have cut immigration in half, and
focuses on cutting back what is known as "chain migration"-ways of
immigrating to the U.S. based on family ties.
The new Republican bill, called the RAISE Act (short for Reforming
American Immigration for Strong Employment Act) is co-authored by Republican
Sens.
Tom Cotton and David Perdue. It would alter the immigration screening
process to favor English speakers with the purported ability to
support themselves financially and demonstrate skills that will
benefit the economy.
It would also, according to the president, prohibit recently arrived
green-card holders from receiving welfare. Trump problematically
referred to this as a "merit-based" system on Wednesday.
Writes The Washington Post: (
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/08/02/trump-
gop-se
nators-to-introduce-bill-to-slash-legal-immigration-levels/?utm_term=.
a00fca
832823 )
To achieve the reductions and create what they call a "merit-based system,"
Cotton and Perdue are taking aim at green cards for extended family
members of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents, limiting such
avenues for grown children and siblings. Minor children and spouses
would still be eligible to apply for green cards.
The senators also propose to end a visa diversity lottery that has
awarded
50,000 green cards a year, mostly to areas in the world that
traditionally do not have as many immigrants to the United States,
including Africa. And the bill caps refugee levels at 50,000 per year.
Trump declares the bill to be the most significant immigration reform
in half a century. He says that one of the main motivations to pass
the bill is to prevent the displacement of American workers-a claim
that's echoed by Cotton, who has said that while immigrant rights
groups might view the current system as a "symbol of American virtue
and generosity," he sees it "as a symbol we're not committed to
working-class Americans and we need to change that."
To the contrary, studies suggest (
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/us/immigrants-arent-taking-american
s-jobs -new-study-finds.html ) this evaluation is somewhat
misleading:
The (National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine) report
assembles research from 14 leading economists, demographers and other
scholars, including some, like Marta Tienda of Princeton, who write
favorably about the impacts of immigration and others who are
skeptical of its benefits, like George J. Borjas, a Harvard economist.
Here's what the report says:
"We found little to no negative effects on overall wages and
employment of native-born workers in the longer term," said Francine
D. Blau, an economics professor at Cornell University who led the
group that produced the 550-page report.
An article posted on Politico (
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/immigration-trump-senate-cotton-
234706
) included similar opinions:
"Economists overwhelmingly think that immigration is good for the economy.
That's not just true at the high-skilled, but low-skilled level," said
Jeremy Robbins, the executive director of the Partnership for a New
American Economy, the pro-reform group led by former New York City
Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Robbins, who regularly meets with GOP lawmakers, added: "There is
overwhelming support in Congress for the idea of immigration as an
economic driver, including in the Republican conference."
Trump's elevation of immigration to the forefront of his agenda
probably represents a bid to pull public attention away from the
recent GOP defeat on health care. This latest immigration bill's
chances are slim in the Senate, given that it would require 60 GOP
votes to thwart a Democratic filibuster.
Trump has hammered Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Twitter,
insisting that McConnell abolish the filibuster to better enable the
GOP to pass its legislative agenda.
-Posted by Emily Wells
Ethics Group Wants Steve Bannon Investigated for Public Relations
Relationship
Robert Rosenthal: Investigative Journalism Must Embrace Tech (Audio)
Scheer: 'Fake News' Label Is Used to 'Whitewash American History'
(Video)
Attorney General Sessions Threatens to Punish 'Sanctuary Cities'
Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines
C 2017 Truthdig, LLC. All rights reserved.
Signup for Truthdig's newsletter
gumgum-verify
AdChoices