Donald Decides To Deport Them. Are You Serious?

I know we are supposed to stop talking so much about Donald Trump for similar reasons to why we stopped reporting gang violence so much in the 90's.  Donald Trump thrives on our need to talk about him, however, Hillary needs to mess her hair up a bit because she is sounding like a boring version of Bernie Sanders; Sanders is an unelectable Socialist, and The Donald has cast a shadow so wide over the rest of the republican field I keep forgetting their names- which means Trump is all the entertainment we've got left.

Chronicler's of Trump might appear to be unwitting puppets of the Donald's marketing skill, but we aren't deaf, dumb or blind.  We hear what Trump is saying as much as we see what he is not saying or doing, and both are telling statements into the psyche of a man that is refreshingly transparent while being aloof and close to the vest at the same time. If it looks like we are stuck with our mouths wide open, its not a statement of our lack of intelligence, though we are being schooled by the man who wrote the book.

In his history as a best selling author, Donald once described the business of fine art as a big con game in which the best artist is often nothing more than the best negotiator in fact.  If achieving the greatest negotiation of his lifetime is actually possible for Trump, it will take the most artistic deal he's every pulled off.  To Trump, the entire process of negotiating a deal is a work of art.  In the process of painting it, you may have to scratch the back of both political left and right in order to center in and close the deal.

Trump has dodged his flip flopping label with a dose of business man's ethics that essentially means profit is the only ethic. He's avoided enlisting into the republican war on women by straddling the fence on Planned Parenthood, letting the world know that

"WE HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF WOMEN".

Let him tell it, Trump is all about "the women" and doesn't seem as eager  as some republicans to join this dubious debate in the GOP against abortion and women's reproductive rights which could alienate the vast majority of female voters who appreciate having control over when to be a parent or not. Trump claims that he's a friend of Mexico too and has showered Hispanic voters with enough back handed compliments towards Mexico's leaders to actually be the top poller in the GOP amongst Hispanic voters as well.

Trump is adamant about a fence and even more adamant that Mexico must pay for it.  Oddly, Trump is also talking vociferously against amnesty, meaning he is ready and willing to send 11 million South American immigrants back to somewhere in South America, since Mexico's portion is not the entire enchilada anymore.

This all sounds somewhat straight forward until you ask Trump about the broken families that he's likely to create during the deportation process as Chuck Todd did during Sunday's Meet The Press (NBC).  To that, Trump says "we have to keep the families together".

Keep them together?  If you happen to save a little money by forcing Mexico to pay for the fence- a fence that Trump says won't cost very much anyway-  you'll lose it all and then some by deporting families with a self imposed challenge of keeping families intact as part of the mission. If Hispanics trust Trump and his plan, this could be the way to a comfortable two or three week vacation in a Mexican Holiday Inn before returning to America to finally get legal. Or not.

Is this really a plan or is it just the art of the deal?

For whatever unpractical reason, republicans seems inspired by the deport those Mexicans rhetoric that keeps firing up the base and driving up the poll numbers for Donald Trump.  From a GOP perspective, the plan seems to be working brilliantly for Trump but not for the rest of the field who would much rather talk about how bad Obama has been for America than immigration and abortion.


Putting aside for now the fact that most of America's voters are women, the American electorate gains 1 million NEW Hispanic voters every year, and a growing Hispanic electorate can not be excited by the less than compassionate deportation plan that the lead Republican candidate just put forth, even if it's twice as compassionate as the self deportation idea that sprouted from the last republican primary winner.

Trump is really good at more aspects of the business of politics than most of us previously anticipated. Now, he's even developing the skill of talking away policy positions that have changed over the years. resorting to a overriding doctrine that no Republican will ever be able to challenge him on. Trump has recently resorted to reminding republicans that the god of Republicans, Ronald Reagan, used to be a Democrat.  If Reagan can finally come into the light, even Trump can be excused for his days of darkness.

Nonetheless, how can Trump track back to the center after unveiling an eliminate birthright citizenship, 'deport the Mexicans and build a fence to keep them out' platform?

Donald understands the art of the deal and the power of a poker face, but does he realize the demand of tracking back to the center during a general election?  Building fences and deporting Mexican families is a radical position that could only benefit Donald during the GOP primary negotiation which is only half of Trump's ultimate goal.

Could a man so charismatic and economically brilliant be so foolish when it comes to alienating such an important part of the American general electorate?

He's not foolish or stupid. So Why Is He Doing This?  

If Trump is using the same immigrants that he intends to deport as a dangling jalapeno against a spicy hot conservative electorate, it's because his deal making skill says he doesn't really need them to close this part of the deal. 

By the time Trump finishes off the republican field, he'll simply invoke Reagan once again to explain his change of heart against deporting immigrant families- maybe even blame Mexico for not cooperating.  By going this route, general election voters can forgive him for offending the Mexicans and move on to the next deal, a deal that he will never be able to close if he remains on this futile path towards deporting instead of embracing Hispanic culture.

Attention all undocumented workers. "You're Fired!"

You're Donald Trump.  

Just Fire Them!  

If Trump convinces America to stop allowing birthright citizenship, will he retro activate the law so a few of his birthright citizen rivals get deported or disqualified for president?

How exactly do we round up 11 million undocumented workers and millions more of their legal family members who we may not be able to find, instead of tracking down employers of undocumented workers whose whereabouts we know for certain?

Anyone who really is interested in fixing the high powered job magnet that is American immigration by putting up a fence instead of shutting off the magnet is unrealistic and frankly stupid.  The biggest crime of immigration is the complicit thirst for cheap labor that WE keep pretending didn't begin with slavery.

From houses to fast food; most things Made In America are produced by low waged Mexicans, and most things sold in America are produced by low waged Asians.Neither of these realities exists because a bunch of eager Americans were doing the job for less already.  If high paid American workers were worth it to American corporations, they would have kept domestic production and English speaking drive through workers or cell phone repair technicians instead of changing these faces and voices for profit reasons alone.

Deport Them?  ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

Trump will never do a thing about immigration because he won't have to.  No candidate without a serious plan for the largest growing segment of America will ever have to seriously worry about getting elected as America's president because immigration is a swing issue that America expects its next president to seriously resolve one way or another.

Deportation is not a serious plan.

Dealing with Vladimir Putin Means Doing Everything We Can Except Something Stupid

When political disagreements involve doing nothing in congress, (or as little as possible) you have political polarization.  As it relates to our current political climate, we can debate the root of it all day long, but it amounts to nothing more than the politicians we elect doing whatever we allow.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin is hardly concerned about a president who is not serious about his words.  He watches FOX news just like the rest of us do.  He knows exactly what congress and all of those who oppose this president are saying.  Putin is certain of very little except America’s unwillingness to support the decisions of this president, no matter what those decisions might be.

The common refrain from those who vowed to make Obama a one term president, is that he has not followed up on his warnings against certain nations with consequences, that includes Russia.    

When it came to Syria, it looked for a moment that the president was ready to strike, but congress quickly declared that America’s imminent threat was not involved.  In response, president Obama encouraged congress to vote on the matter, in which they abstained long enough for Russia to intervene and force a deal to be made.

President Obama could do what other presidents have done.  He could have moved on Syria and forced congress to stop him.  Given the characterization of the republican designed Affordable Care Act being  rammed down the throat of America, it makes a lot of sense that he would challenge the resolve of congress instead of adding to his dictatorial image.

Personally, I would have said to hell with congress and done what I believed to be correct, even if FOX news hardly needed another distorted story to help drive their ratings.  President Obama chose political expediency when it comes to Syria, but Barack Obama has always been a political pragmatist who most resembles the republicans that despise him. 

Barack Obama did not fight tooth and nail to save the food stamp cuts or the cancelled unemployment benefits.  Obama did lean far to the right on things like surveillance and the use of drones. Obama did not rush to join black organizations like My Brother’s Keeper when many of those who elected him begged for such support early in his presidency.  He is joining his support to his version of NAFTA with the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP which is seen as a clear challenge to American jobs and opposed by most of his party. He is driving down the deficit with his plan to cut the military, but in classic form, republicans are attacking him for cuts that they themselves have proposed.  He had the voting majority to install a single payer insurance plan but decided upon RomneyCare 2.0 instead.

President Barack Obama is a fantastic American.  He is Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King with a side dish of Bill Clinton.  Each of these great American’s, despite their awesome stature, are as humanly flawed as is every president who ever assumed the role.  Rather it be in deed or perspective, no president can make every decision, with such a vast list of them, correctly.

So now the decision on Russia and the Ukraine is at hand……..allegedly.  Whatever he does, Obama will have critics as most presidents do, but there is a right answer to this no matter what the critics declare.

Many will remind you that Bush warned Putin back when he put troops in Georgia without consequence just as we have now done in Syria.  As a result, Putin does not believe there is any consequence to his actions.  

When you raise kids and don’t give them consequence, you may inherit a problem much like Putin is to America right now.  Unlike children, adults, and nations of free adults are not subject to the consequence of a disapproving nation who dislikes your 19^th century diplomacy.  Ukraine fought over trade allegiance and engaged in a 19^th century governmental overthrow which Russia allowed without interruption.  If America can offer a billion dollar loan to the Ukraine without a duly elected government, Russia clearly has a duty  to support their Ukrainian allies (which they did not do during the upheaval) or insure a democratic Ukraine moving forward for the sake of their relationship with that future regime.  Like it or not, this is clearly a matter of Russian  geopolitical, and thus, economic concern.

Sometimes the proper consequence of 19^th century diplomacy is boots to the ground.  Our 21^st century approach may result in future boots on the ground, but it certainly should not begin there.  Absent of such a punitive response, Barack Obama is doing exactly what he can do, which is everything except something stupid.

What the hell is a Reagan Republican anyway?..I Hate Labels....All of Them

If Socialism is the only reasonable counter balancer to the negative impact of out of control capitalism than I am proud to carry the label. The Cold War is over and we won. Yet, the bloody trail of success and failure within OUR pristine example of capitalism leaves many to wonder if American capitalism is such a good path to follow.

I believe that the free-market democracy that we continue to pursue is as necessary as it is difficult. American capitalism upholds the world. I also think that it might be time to stop demonizing socialism and start to ask every person who thinks they are not socialist' to declare which socialized program in America do they promote getting rid of. Police or Military? Public schools and roads that we didn't build ourselves? Corporate welfare or just poor people welfare. What separates social collectivism surrounding unified needs from unadulterated Karl Marx socialism? Have we ever seen a true example of this free market government that they speak of? What the hell is a Reagan Republican anyway? Have we ever seen socialism (which is not an economic system anyway) with the absence of capitalism?


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Either Capitalism does not truly have an answer for what to do with the ever present "have not's" plaguing ALL countries and ALL political ideologies, or we simply need to get out the way and let their ends justify their means.  Sadly, a lot of people feel the pain waiting for your trickle down to reach below the poverty line. I could buy the idea that rising waters raises all boats if I had a damn boat to begin with. If you don't have a boat those waters could smother you. Shall we privatize removal of the people who die through attrition as we de-socialize our Free-Market government? If you collect a tax for it would that not be socialism too?

Does America thrive on apparently opposing forces?

The truth is that we are, and always have been, a reasonable balance of socialist and capitalist ideas. Even President Rush Limbaugh doesn't applaud robber baron's or believe in corporate monopolies (do you). What force came to bear against these capitalistic blunders if not the greatest force of socialistic power known to man.  Government intervention via socialist measures (aka. taxes).

Labels are the tool of division and serve only to allow us all to retreat to our corner of righteous indignation. Human's are just as flawed as our political and religious ideologies. The notion than anyone of them is purely right and righteous enough for us to impose on each other is arrogant. While Obama's so called liberalism did not stop him from using a conservative plan to create ObamaCare, conservative disdain for government does not stop them from taking government tax credits or using loopholes in the code every year around April (although some are claiming that they won't take a healthcare subsidy). 


If I claim to be a socialist but wish God wasn't kicked out of our schools so that we could have an LGBT club instead, is there a label for me? Are there no LGBT Christian's? I hate labels......All of them!