I think Lady Liberty would be crying right now if she were human. Given the events of recent days, echoing the worst days from our history, I cannot fathom what it would be like to be an immigrant, a nonwhite person or a dreamer.
The executive and legislative branches of government right now are treating humans like cattle in their unending war to gain political advantage. Instead of behaving like adults, too many follow the lead of the childish and dangerous 45 — no way to solve this nation’s problems.
Philadelphia experienced all kinds of misbehavior after the Eagles won the Super Bowl on Sunday. Some called it “rioting,” while others brushed it off as limited bad behavior. In a city that large, “limited bad behavior” would be like torching the whole downtown of a city the size of Fargo.
No matter what they call it in Pennsylvania, if nonwhites had committed those acts, you can bet the farm there would have been large-scale arrests. The last reports I’ve seen reported just three arrests, though there may have been a few more since then.
When the Minnesota Vikings played in Pennsylvania, the local fans’ behavior was both obnoxious and unlawful, as well as completely dangerous. We’ve heard about urinating on people, throwing full cans of beer, head-butting and other physical contact. And no arrests?
While I certainly don’t equate the situations in Pennsylvania and North Dakota, does anyone remember the level of force used to quash the protesters at Standing Rock? Does anyone recall the hundreds of arrests — arrests that subsequently resulted in multiple dismissals?
Recently federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement — ICE — has been arresting people at work, at church and while dropping their children off at school. Physicians, U.S. military veterans and parents have been hauled off and deported, sometimes without a chance even to say goodbye to their families.
What kind of country deports people under these circumstances? How dare they even consider arresting veterans who have earned citizenship through their service, even if present law does not reflect that.
It isn’t the nation that is the problem. It is our totally dysfunctional government. There is no excuse for the DACA situation, with the lives of hundreds of thousands who were brought here as children left hanging in the balance. President Obama provided leadership, but 45 revoked Obama’s executive order with his own. The current president did have the right to revoke the order, but he also had a duty to have a new plan in place before doing so — assuming he knew what he was doing, and I don’t think he did — or at least now, as the deadline he set is looming.
While Special Counsel Robert Mueller continues his investigation, 45 perfects his frustrated-monkey yowl and attacks the investigation that is steadily moving forward. This, of course, is the same 45 who promised to release the flawed GOP intelligence “report” before he had even read it.
Too many people excuse his bad behavior. Too many buy into his obvious lies. They seemingly couldn’t care less.
But the president of these dimwits is about to walk right into a constitutional crisis. In doing so, he lashes out like a … well, I was going to say “child,” but I’m not insulting children. He has no concept about how his words are taken by the rest of the world.
I once again urge those people in government who support him to take away his Twitter and his cellphone and lock him in a room until the Mueller investigation is complete.
If, as the president says, he’s not guilty of collusion or obstruction, why on Earth is he doing everything in his power to block the investigation? If he had a filter of any type and was genuinely innocent, 45 should have sat back, laughed and waited until Mueller was done. He did not.
His actions speak louder than words! They are the actions of a man who has something nefarious to hide. In the meantime, he places our country in danger and the congressional majority does nothing to protect our democracy.
I’ve said this before: It is the third branch of government, the judiciary, that will ultimately restore this country to its greatness. Trump has lost most of the legal battles he has faced, and he is about the lose the biggest one of all. The question is not “if,” but “when.” Amen.
