The Wrong Approach.

       Well, a few weeks ago, I wrote in a post about why the price of gasoline has gone up. But I just read where President Trump asked OPEC to lower the price of crude oil. Maybe he sort of told them to, but anyway the price of gasoline is up even higher. That's tough on me and everybody on a fixed income, but it's good for employment in the oil industry and for unemployment.
       Now if the price of oil sinks to anywhere near, I think the figure is $65 a barrel, it'll hurt the oil industry and there would be lots of layoffs and increased unemployment. The point is there are always consequences to any actions.
Which brings me to tariffs. When you decide to charge a tax on products another country exports to you, don't you think they're going to do the same to you?  Now I  agree that China has been stealing our technology and forcing American companies to hand over their technologies in order to do business in China.
       That's very unfair and we should have done something about it years ago. I'm just not sure that tariffs against Chinese and European products is necessarily the answer. They can just as easily tax American goods going to China and Europe. We need to demand China cease those practices or face a total cessation of trade between the two countries.
       That would likely send us into a deep recession . It could end the Chinese leadership. The president at least tried something with tariffs. He just tried the wrong approach. My advise, although I can't imagine him taking it, would be to listen to his most knowledgeable advisors. But only those who know what they're talking about. This IS like rocket science and we need someone who will take it as seriously as that science.

Moderate - Extremist?

       So, a newspaper in Maryland was shot up. Five people were killed. And guess what? The shooter wasn't even a Muslim. He just hated that newspaper. I wonder if he was influenced by Pres. Trump? After all, they were members of the hated, fake news, press.  They were just lucky they weren't part of the MSNBC team, elsewise they'd have been maligned by our president as well.
       Our free press is under attack by our president. News organizations that just happen to be more important to the American people than the president himself. Oh, don't get me wrong, he doesn't hate all news organizations. He really loves  FOX News for some reason. Actually that reason is that they agree with him 100%, or maybe he just takes his lead from FOX News in which case they love him 100% of the time.
       If our president were to get his way the rest of the news gathering organizations in the country would be forced out of business. Why, because they don't agree with his programs that have almost never passed the legal challenges brought against them. I suppose the next legal mind he appoints to the SCOTUS will be so conservative he'll squeak at the mention of Roe v Wade.
       We can only hope that the Senate will force him to be more moderate in his choice. Someone who, at least, doesn't hate the media. It'll only take a couple Republicans to teach him a lesson in how to forge a SCOTUS that will be moderate in its decisions rather than extremist.

What's Next?

      Well, what President Trump couldn't do because of the Democrats, he claimed, he did by signing a document rescinding his prior document on immigration. Now the big problem facing America is the tariffs we've placed against the world causing the world to place tariffs against us. Who knew? Who could have foretold that if we placed huge tariffs against China, the E. U. Canada and Mexico that they would retaliate with huge tariffs against us? Almost everybody, that's who.
       And guess what? Its starting and it ain't gonna be pretty. If we insist on holding onto our tariffs against products from these countries you can be sure they're gonna hit us where it hurts most. And the thing is those countries can pinpoint our products and where they're made and in who's districts those factories are in and cause huge unemployment in those districts ahead of elections.
       Politics are always involved in everything everyone does. You hit one of our industries and that causes unemployment to go up, we're gonna hit one of your industries so the unemployment goes up, but we're gonna look for industries in areas or states where it will hurt you the most come election time. We're too global to mess with other nations. So how do we make others play fair?
       The answer to that question isn't likely to be available from any one person. But a leader has access to many advisors from many different interests and industries that he can bring together to devise a plan that will force others to all play fairly. We hope. But the leader has to actually listen to those advisors and act on their recommendations. The leader has to be able to make the final decision, but only well advised. No flying by the seat of his pants.

Separation.

       The family flees their home because of the fear of violence. They believe their only chance for safety is in America. After a cruel trip to the Mexican border with the U.S. A. they cross over into the land of the free and safe. They are arrested and incarcerated. Then they are separated; toddlers and infants to one location older boys to another and girls to a third location. Parents to a forth location.
Nobody is informed where the rest of the family is.
       The parents are sent before a federal judge who sentences them to time served or a month or so and then deported to their home country. They are not accompanied by their children. That's because nobody knows where the children are in the maze of holding camps for children. So now the U.  S. A. has custody of several thousand unaccompanied children, and that number keeps growing because families still would rather take their changes in America than remain in their homeland. What do we do with these children? They still belong to the families deported. Now the court has to decide to take the family apart so it can give those children away to someone else.
       In the meantime these children are traumatized. The parents have been punished and will be for life. The tax payers must pay to support these children until some acceptable solution for their futures are decided.  Also in the meantime the whole world is watching the "shining city on the hill" Ronald Reagan talked about which is now stealing children and using them as hostages for Trump's border plans. Make America better? You're kidding, right?  

Our Lost Image

       Donald Trump. Ya know, Phyllis Diller would probably repeat herself by saying of him, "his finest hour lasted a minute and a half." I'm not so sure it lasted that long. Look at the record; he has decided to eliminate the illegal immigrant situation by abducting the children of families crossing the border and placing them in cages.
       If somebody took your children and sent you back, wouldn't you try again to gain entry in order to get your children back? But if we keep the children, what are we gonna do with them? I mean, that is legal to do. We can't make cheap laborers out of them. But we'll have to feed them and cloth and shelter them. Maybe we'll give them away. Or auction them off. That's not funny.
       But my question is: Has anyone given any thought to the future of these children? Honestly, they will have futures, they'll grow up in spite of everything our government does to them, so what will we do with them? How can we possibly keep them from nightmares? What can we do for these small, utterly innocent children?
       Our country has, apparently intentionally, done these children harm. How do we go about making a very bad situation better. How do we mend our image? The whole world is looking at us with disdain. How can we ever regain our position of respect in the world when we treat children this way?
       I keep saying "we" instead of "our government" because "we" put our government in place. We elected them. The only solution is to begin to replace those who foster and excuse this outrage. Our first opportunity to do this comes this November. Make it a point to know how your elected officials stand. Make it a point to vote.

Stealing Children

       I Thought I understood what was going on at our southern border. Boy was I misinformed.  In the N.Y. Times this morning a report tells about a woman and her eight year old son who were captured crossing into America from Guatemala. The boy was sent to a shelter for migrant children. And, the mother was deported and sent back to Guatemala.
       So what happened to the boy? Its almost as though the government of the United States of America had decided it needed more young children but not the parents. Okay, you explain how the government can separate a family and send the parents back, but keep the children. I'd like to hear how the law allows that. And even if it actually did, and I'm sure it doesn't, but even if it did, for what purpose?
       And if the law actually permits the administration to keep those children instead of sending them back home with their parents, what in the world is the Congress doing, or more accurately, not doing about it. Now the president blames the Democrats, but the Democrats have no control. The House of Representatives and the Senate are both controlled by the Republicans, who seem to be controlled by the President.
       And even the First Lady has spoken out against it and the last Republican First lady did too. How can anyone with a soul think this is a good and fair outcome? We seem to be interested in forming enemies right within our own country. Does anyone think these kids will grow up and be happy about the way America treated them?
     

They're Just Kids.

       Huh, America is still stealing children from their parents and sending them - Who knows where. But fear not, the Republicans have an answer. They're floating a proposal to allow the children to be jailed along side their parents. So now the idea is not to steal the kids, but to jail them. You're all heart people. This all comes from the idea that since the parents entered America illegally they must go to jail until they can prove they are not criminals and that they fear for their safety if they are returned to their home country.
       First off, can they really hold someone in prison until they prove they are not guilty? Is that the American way? What's next? Will we be found to be not sufficiently adoring of the dear President? Lock em up. I get it that we have to be sure of who we allow in. And that we go by first come first served, legally and illegal entry doesn't get you automatic citizenship.
       But is imprisoning these people for fleeing dangerous conditions back home the best answer we can come up with? And shouldn't these children be getting an education? Of course school's out for the summer. How is it that we can send our president on missions to alienate our friends and maybe making friends with our enemies. Enemies who have time and time again broken promises.
       Of course we're big and strong. We can throw children around while their parents are in jail. How about getting tough on Russia and China. If we're as big and tough as our President thinks we are, then lets get tough with our enemies, not admire them. And you Republicans are a long way from fair.