Roe v Wade – Debunking the Myth

A lot is being made about abortion and reproductive rights during the presidential election cycle. Most people think Roe v Wade gave women unfettered access to abortions. To some extent, I guess that’s true.

However, most people don’t realize Roe v Wade did contain some limitations in abortion access. I think it’s important that we revisit the decision to appreciate what the truth was/is.

In January 1973, the Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, legalized abortion nationwide. In the majority opinion, written by Justice Blackmun, the Court held a women’s right to an abortion was implicit in her right to privacy under the 14th Amendment.

Basically, the court divided a pregnancy into three trimesters, deciding the decision to terminate a pregnancy in the first trimester was solely at the discretion of the woman. In the second trimester, the government can regulate abortion, but it could not ban it, in order to protect the life of the mother.

During the third trimester, the state could ban abortion to protect a fetus that could live outside the womb on it own, except when a woman’s health was in danger.

Since Roe was overturned earlier this year, Democrats have campaigned on the promise to enact the precept of Roe v Wade. In other words, they have vowed to enact a law that would allow abortion access as outline in Roe v Wade.

Again, the Roe decision does not call for unfettered access to abortion at any time during a pregnancy. Only during the first trimester does a woman have the sole discretion whether to terminate the pregnancy. After that time, the government/state can regulate or ban abortion depending on the length of pregnancy up to that point.

Now, I want to be clear, Democrats have NOT encourage all women to have abortions! Show me one ad, either electronic or written, that shows a Democrat calling for women to have abortions! You know what? You can’t – because they don’t exist.

Instead, Democrats advocate for women to make such decisions for themselves. Democrats do not feel the government should interfere with such personal decisions. Thus, the term “pro choice” – the woman should be free to choose her own path.

For a party (the GOP) who advocates for smaller government and freedom of choice (mask mandates – remember that brouhaha?), it’s ironic they would insist on the right to interfere with medical decisions that have nothing to do with them!

The GOP in general, and Trump/Vance specifically, have totally misled the American people regarding the ramifications of overturning Roe. Trump continually touts that every Democrat, every Republican, everyone wanted Roe overturned and the abortion issue to be given to the states. That’s not true at all.

Initially, I do think the majority of Republicans hailed the Dobbs decision (that overturned Roe) as a victory. However, once the consequence became known – stories of real women traumatized by untreated miscarriages whose lives were endangered and whose reproductive possibilities were endangered – I think Republicans “saw the light”.

Suddenly, the old adage “Be careful what you wish for, you may just get it” had a whole new meaning! And it wasn’t pretty.

Current polls indicate most Americans, including most Republicans, now favor abortion access in certain instances. This is a no brainer for me. Abortions will continue one way or another. I’d prefer if they were not conducted in back alleys under less than ideal circumstances.

Yes, bring back Roe. The limitations within the decision were reasonable.

IMHO . . .

More On The Debate

Okay, I’m up and running – kind of! Let’s face it, I’m an early to bed type of person. I get up every morning at 6:00 regardless of what time I went to bed, primarily because my two fur babies jump in bed with me to remind me breakfast time is fast approaching! How can I forget??

Anyway, I’ve had half my coffee and am semi-conscious! So, here I sit ruminating more about the debate last night.

As I’ve been going through my morning routine, I’ve been listening to Morning Joe and its guests critique the debate. It’s hard to disagree with them.

I feel more strongly this morning that Harris won the debate last night. She was cool, calm, specific and on-point! Trump, meanwhile, was chaotic and lying. He looked like a sad old man on his last gasp!

Perhaps he was on his last gasp. With any luck at all, Trump will lose in November and he will retire to the golf course – unless he’s in jail first! Anyway, I digress – back to the debate.

I felt the moderators were good. They fact-checked Trump in real time three times – yes, only three! Had they fact-checked all his lies there would have been no time for any questions! But some of the more egregious lies had to be fact-checked:

Haitian migrants in Springfield, OH are eating the cats and dogs of people who live there.
Democrats favor abortion in the ninth month and even favor killing new born babies.
To be honest, I can’t remember the last lie that was fact-checked, but does it matter?

With respect to the pet eating story, I did find a news article that involved a Canton, OH (not Springfield) woman who is not an immigrant being charged for stomping on the head of a cat, killing it, and eating it. But, again, she is NOT an immigrant and she is not from Springfield. And it is a single incident not a rampant wide-spread event.

With respect to abortions in the ninth month or infanticide, there is no state that allows the killing of a baby. Trump has repeatedly said that Governor Walz allows babies to be killed in the state of Minnesota. Such a lie! Late term abortions were never allowed except under highly unusual circumstances, such as risk to the life of the mother.

I loved the part during the debate when Harris invited everyone to attend a Trump rally to see for themselves. Trump talks of fictional characters such as Hannibal Lector; people start to leave early because it becomes boring.

Clearly, this triggered Trump who stated that Harris rallies are not well-attended and that she pays for people to come to her rallies. In reality, the only paid attendees I’ve seen are for Trump rallies. I’ve seen a couple of different ads on Craig’s List for people to go to a Trump rally in a specific location and saying they would be paid for attending!

I think I said last night that Harris got a lot of her economic policy out within 8 minutes. She touted a $6,000 child tax credit for the first year of a child’s life to help parents buy a crib or car seat, a $50,000 tax deduction for start-up expenses for small businesses (currently the deduction is limited to $5,000) to help spur innovation and new businesses, a $25,000 assistance for first-time home buyers to help people achieve their dream of owning their home, and a goal of building 3,000,000 new homes to help with housing crisis.

Trump’s response to this? She’s had three and a half years, why hasn’t she done it already. I guess he’s forgotten that Harris is the vice president, not the president.

From this point on, Harris got points across at the same time she was pushing Trump’s buttons! She knew the phrases that would trigger him, turning him into an angry old man. He didn’t address most of the questions he was asked. We never heard if he regretted anything he did on January 6th. He merely bemoaned the shooting of Ashli Babbit by a police officer while no one on the “other side” was killed! I guess he forgot about the hundreds of police officers injured or the four that died!

In short, Kamala Harris clearly had a great night, while Trump floundered like a fish out of water!

IMHO . . .

The Debate – Quick overview

The debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris has concluded just a few minutes ago. I’m listening to the post debate analysis while I write this. This will be a very quick overview of my thoughts. It’s late and I really am up past my bedtime (way past)!

This was not a “debate” as one would normally think. A debate is a discussion about a topic or topics, usually between two people. In a presidential debate, the debate normally focuses on the policy position for various issues for each candidate.

If that’s the definition, tonight was not a debate! Kamala Harris managed to get her policy stance out within the first eight minutes, especially with respect to the economy (the number one issue with the majority of voters). Trump meanwhile was reduced to an angry old man who never mentioned a single policy.

In short, Kamala Harris won this “debate” – hand down!

IMHO . . . More tomorrow after I sleep a bit!

PS Taylor Swift just announced she will be voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz!! Big news!

When Is The Time?

I’ve been under the weather for the past week. Nasty “bug” that creeps up on you slowly and then knocks you for a loop! But I’m feeling better – physically anyway.

Psychologically, I feel miserable and discouraged. On Wednesday, September 4, 2024, another school shooting occurred at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia! A 14-year-old student at the school opened fire using an AR-15 style rifle, killing four people and injuring nine others. Two teachers and two 14-year-old students were killed, while one teacher and eight students were injured. All injured parties are expected to make full recoveries, thank heavens.

The initial reactions from everyone, including political figures, was of horror and sympathy. Once again, leaders sent “thoughts and prayers”.

From all accounts, this incident appears (at least at first blush) to have been avoidable. The young man accused of the shooting, 14 year-old Colt Gray, had been identified in the Spring of 2023 with respect to a potential school shooting threat. Local law enforcement, as well as the FBI, interviewed Colt and his father, Colin, regarding purported threats made on-line. After assuring the interviewers that he had never made any threats and after his father assured law enforcement that his son did not have unfettered access to any of the hunting guns in the home, law enforcement took no further action.

Here we are today, one year and four months later, and both Colt and his father are sitting in jail waiting for preliminary hearings currently scheduled for December 2024! At some point, allegedly during the holidays, Colin had presented Colt with the assault style rifle as a gift!

Colt is being charged with four counts capital first degree murder and nine counts of attempted murder. Colin is being charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children.

Due to his age, Colt will not face the death penalty. However, since he’s being charged as an adult, Colt could be sentenced to life in prison without parole! Colin’s maximum sentence at this point could add up to 180 years!

How have our presidential candidates and their running mates reacted?

Trump on Truth Social: “Our hearts are with the victims and loved ones of those affected by the tragic event in Winder, GA. These cherished children were taken from us far too soon by a sick and deranged monster.“

Harris on Twitter: “Today, Doug and I are mourning the deaths of those whose lives were cut short by gun violence at Apalachee High School in Georgia. Our hearts are with the students, teachers, and families impacted by this shooting, and we are grateful to the first responders and law enforcement on the scene. This is a senseless tragedy — and it does not have to be this way. We must end the epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all.”

It should be noted that VP Harris was on the campaign trail when the shooting occurred. She “interrupted” her prepared remarks to discuss common sense changes that need to be discussed because it doesn’t have to be this way!

Vance on Twitter: “Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this despicable violence just days into the new school year. We are keeping the victims, their families, and the whole community of Winder, Georgia in our prayers this evening,”

At a campaign even later in the week, Vance said gun violence was sadly just a fact of life. Therefore, gun legislation is not necessary but school safety should be enhanced.

It should be noted the two school resource officers had Colt in custody within six minutes of the first gun shot! Not sure how he got the gun into the school. Did they have metal detectors?

Walz on Twitter: “Our hearts are with the families and community of Winder, Georgia as our nation reels from yet another tragic school shooting. Our actions need to be there too. We must do everything in our power to keep students and educators safe.”

Notice anything? I sure did! The GOP response is the same old “thoughts and prayers”, which is fine. Very nice. But, it never addresses any action needed.

Meanwhile, the Democratic responses send thoughts and prayers, along with a call to actually do something!

Oh and while I’m at it, Georgia Governor Kemp responded as well. It should be noted that Georgia has some of the most lax gun laws in the US. Kemp signed a law allowing someone to carry a handgun without a state issued permit!

Kemp’s initial response was to offer all the support he could for the school and the community. Later in the week, however, he echoed the standard GOP line – it’s not the time to discuss changes to gun laws, etc. So, the standard “thoughts and prayers” and Trump’s line from an earlier shooting of we’ve got to get over it!

Serious question here – when is the time to discuss gun laws? GOP lawmakers, both state and federal, have continually said that it’s not time to discuss changes immediately after an incident occurs. However, they don’t seem any more willing to discuss changes well after the incidents, either.

So, again, when is the time? How many more students have to die or be wounded? How many more students need the trauma of living through such a nightmare?

I find it more than ironic that the GOP is willing to discuss and legislate my uterus in what’s called “pro life”. But, they are unwilling to discuss and/or legislate anything doing with guns that kill and maim our children! What is wrong with this picture??

One more point – it’s often touted that violence on TV and in movies, violent video games, etc. all contribute to the violence perpetrated by these youngsters at school. That’s fine – I’m not a fan of violent video games, either. However, the United States is not unique in this regard. Many other countries have access to the same TV shows/movies and video games, without the mass school shootings! So, what’s the difference? Most of those countries, while they allow citizens to own guns, they have common sense gun laws!

I’m all for protecting freedoms for all, including the freedom to own a gun (much as I hate guns and would never own one myself). However, I am sick and tired of hearing about the second amendment. When that amendment was written, it was definitely a different time. Citizens had muskets that shot only one round before having to navigate a tedious reloading procedure to shoot again. Not so today! I doubt very seriously the Founding Fathers actually anticipated the high-tech killing machines we have on the market today!

We regulate the age at which a person is lawfully allowed to operate a motor vehicle. We regulate the age at which a person is lawfully allowed to drink alcohol (though many ignore this). But heaven forbid we regulate ownership and/or operation of a gun, whose sole purpose is to kill. That’s what assault rifles are – they were designed for military warfare. It’s ridiculous the lengths to which lawmakers will go to “protect” these “rights” all for the gun lobbyists, mainly the NRA!

To echo VP Harris – IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY!

Offensive and Disgusting

Trump and his campaign staff visited Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) this week (Monday, to be exact) to honor the 13 soldiers killed during the chaotic pull-out of Afghanistan.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should tell you that I am totally biased about this situation. And it’s not just because I’m not a Trump fan. My father is buried in ANC on Chaplain’s Hill (not Section 60). Dad was buried there on April 4, 2011, with full military honors. He had served 30 years in the US Army. He actually had two tours of duty. The first was when he reached the minimum age at the end of World War II. The second was after he graduated college and seminary in the mid-50s. I can’t remember the actual year since I was so young at the time. He was deployed to Vietnam in 1966-1977, arriving home in time for my sister’s high school graduation.

NOTE: Though he was a Chaplain, he had to move to front line troops via helicopter to provide services. Yes, he was shot at more than once! Despite regulations, he refused to carry a gun during those “missions”.

ANC has always been a place of reverence for me. While Dad was assigned to Ft. Belvoir in Virginia, the family did the normal touristy things, visiting all the monuments, the Smithsonian, etc. We were at Belvoir when JFK was shot and killed in Dallas.

We moved back to the area, specifically Alexandria, while Dad was in Vietnam so my sister could graduate from her favorite high school, Mount Vernon. Lucky her!

Any way, when we were there the second time, we visited ANC to view the Eternal Flame at JFK’s grave site. It was so somber and inspiring. So, yeah, I am particularly biased on this subject!

On Monday, Trump and his campaign ignored the ANC policy regarding using the cemetery for political purposes. There was a reported “incident” with an ANC official, which resulted in a report to Military Police. But, the official refused to press charges, so the incident has been closed.

Nonetheless, the whole thing could have been avoided had the campaign followed policy. Trump and his campaign claim he was invited by the family of those killed in Afghanistan and that the family asked if they could have a picture with him at their loved one’s grave. He, of course, said yes.

But, was that all it was? Was it as innocent as they claim? I think not. One need only see that still image of Trump amid family members with thumbs up and a ridiculous smile on his face! Who does that? Who gives a thumbs up at a grave site? That was so inappropriate!

If you look at the photo, there is another grave on the left that is clearly legible. The family of that fallen hero was not asked if it was okay to include the grave in the photo. In the background are other families visiting the graves of their loved ones. They weren’t asked if it was okay to include them in a public photo!

Since Monday, video has been posted on various campaign social media accounts. This clearly shows Trump and his campaign intended to use the “event” for political purposes. I find it repugnant and offensive.

Steven Cheung, Trump campaign spokesperson, denied an altercation. “There was no physical altercation as described and we are prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims are made,” Cheung said in a statement. “The fact is that a private photographer was permitted on the premises and for whatever reason an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony.”

So, not only do they call the official (a woman) a liar, but they also say she was mentally unbalanced. Sound familiar? Not surprisingly, the campaign has NOT released the video to prove their point.

Let’s see – who do I believe? The Liar in Chief Trump or the ANC woman official? Hmmmm – I think I’ll go with ANC on this one!

Like many other users on Twitter (sorry Musk, I’m not going to call it X), I feel Trump has once again escaped any consequences for ignoring rules! When, oh when, will he be held accountable? I am so sick of this man, in general. But, I HATE that he gets away with anything/everything! I so wish the military would have pressed charges for the altercation and for snubbing the policy ban on politically motivated appearances!

I am disgusted and offended that Trump went to ANC at all. I’m sorry to the families of those killed at Abbey Gate, but that doesn’t give them license to okay a campaign stunt by Trump.

Let’s face it, Trump was only there for the photo op. He’s been taking a lot of heat for the resurfaced comments he has made in the past about veterans – suckers & losers, what did they get out of it, nobody wants to see that (a disabled veteran who lost his legs in combat), etc. He needed to rehabilitate his image with veterans. What better way than the have a photo op at ANC? He used those families, pure and simple. And the sad thing is they don’t even realize it. They were a means to his end.

Just to set the record straight – yes, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan occurred during the Biden administration. But, let’s not forget, Trump was the one who negotiated the withdrawal before he left the White House.

Trump negotiated with the Taliban, without including the Afghan government. Trump negotiated to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners as part of the withdrawal. Trump negotiated the timeline. Trump was the one who lowered troops in the area to 2,500, even though he was told they needed more!

I remember when Trump bragged to the media that he’s the one who got us out of the never ending war. He was responsible for the withdrawal and the timeline. No question, the execution of the withdrawal was not great! But I think there would have been chaos no matter when the withdrawal would have taken place. Deja Vu! Remember the withdrawal from Vietnam??

Due to the unfortunate mishandling of the withdrawal and resulting public outcry, Trump has since backed off his initial stance that he was responsible for the end of the war. Nothing new there. He, alone, was responsible for overturning Roe v Wade, until that generated a backlash. “Everyone wanted it overturned. All Democrats, all Republicans, everyone wanted it overturned and sent to the states. I did that.” Sorry, that bucket has holes in it – it doesn’t hold water any more!

So, in my humble opinion, Monday’s appearance at ANC had all the hallmarks of a Trump photo op to rehabilitate his image! Almost reminds me of something – oh, yeah, clearing the square in Washington D.C. so Trump could be filmed crossing over to a church for a photo op! With an upside down Bible!

Pure political stunt! IMHO . . .

DNC – My Take on Last Week

Well, I’ve given myself a weekend (long weekend) to ponder the Democratic National Convention from last week. In a word, it was magnificent! In the words of Rod McKuen in Jacques Brel’s Season in the Sun, “we had joy, we had fun . . .”!

In watching MSNBC each evening, particularly the day after the DNC roll call, they played a side-by-side comparison of the roll calls. The DNC roll call was a celebration, while the RNC felt more like a funeral! Is the RNC less than enthusiastic about its nominee?? It sure felt that way.

The roll call, though, symbolized more. It celebrated passing the torch to a new generation. I think Nikki Haley was right (and this is probably the only time you’ll hear me say that) when she said the first party to nominate a younger candidate (someone under 80) will be the winner.

I don’t know if that’s true, but what is true, the Democrats in nominating a younger generation has energized young voters. This was a group that was less than thrilled with either Trump or Biden.

Biden has been a phenomenal president and has done so much to get the US back to its proper place as leader of the free world and to solidify allies once again. He was absolutely the right man for the time. But I always viewed him as a “transitional” president – the bridge between chaotic Trump and the future.

Kamala is the future. The GOP is stuck in their “old white man” mentality. They just can’t conceive of the new generation or the future. They want to go backwards. I, for one, am not willing to go back! And it appears Millennials don’t either.

This is truly a big block of untapped voters. Biden stepping down has allowed the Democrats to court those voters.

Yes, Trump tapped JD Vance for his running mate and that was certainly a surprise. Vance is a younger generation – he’s only 40. But, I doubt that under Trump’s administration Vance will have any meaningful role to play. He’ll just be sitting in the wings waiting and hoping for his turn! I suspect, however, that the turn will never come. I suspect Trump does not plan on ever leaving office if re-elected! It is obvious to anyone paying attention that Trump wants to rule as an autocrat – a Putin mini-me, if you will!

But, the roll call on Day 2 of the convention was not the only joyful time. The entire week felt joyful and up-lifting! The acceptance speech VP Harris gave was full of hope. Her eyes were fully on the future and her words were inspiring!

Contrast that to Trump’s constant whining about how awful the country is. His negative view on all things American is just not inspiring or hopeful. I honestly cannot imagine how anyone can support someone who has such a dim view of our country. But, then, this is the party that wants to ban books, ban teaching our real history, and supports a man who denigrates wounded/fallen warriors, sexually assaults women, and is convicted of 34 felonies (with more indictments still pending)!

All in all, I felt the DNC this year was one of the best! And I thought 2020’s DNC was inspired, with its unique format thoughtfully put together during the COVID pandemic!

A side note – VP nominee Tim Walz’s acceptance speech was great. And his son’s (Gus) emotional response was so wonderful. To think that Ann Coulter and others criticized Gus Walz for his emotional outburst until it was revealed Gus has nonverbal disability. Whether disabled or not, Gus’ response was heartfelt and genuine. The happiness and pride he had for his father was absolutely appropriate. To think otherwise only shows the small-mindedness and the heartlessness – and dare I say envy – of the GOP! #TeamGus

IMHO . . .

JD, That Pasta Just Won’t Stick

Once again, the Republican nominee for vice president, JD Vance, is trying to go after the Democratic nominee for VP, Tim Walz. Notice I said he’s “trying” to go after Gov Walz.

The criticism de jour is that Walz lied about him and his wife using IVF to conceive their children. Now, let’s look at what Walz actually said.

After the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos created through IVF were considered “children”, ostensibly meaning people could be sued if the embryos were discarded. Walz posted on his Facebook page that he and his wife “have two beautiful children because of reproductive health care like IVF.” (emphasis added)

Additionally, on a podcast last month Walz said that he and his wife wouldn’t have a family if it were not for IVF and the things we need to do reproduction. In other words, Walz did not come right out and say he and his wife used IVF. However, people could have taken his words to mean that.

In reality, Walz and his wife used IUI, intrauterine insemination. Both IVF and IUI are procedures used to help couples experiencing infertility. IVF is when the eggs are extracted from a woman, fertilized in a laboratory with the man’s sperm, and then the resulting embryo (one or more) are directly inserted into the woman’s uterus. In contrast, IUI is when the sperm are placed directly into the uterus. IUI has about a 10% success rate, while IVF has about a 32% success rate.

Vance’s accusation that Walz has lied about IVF just plain falls flat. Whether via IVF or IUI, Walz and his wife had to used assisted reproductive technology in order to have the family they wanted. What Walz said was not a lie. Several fertility doctors have stated it’s common to conflate IVF and IUI. In all likelihood, Walz was trying not to get too technical in explaining his and his wife’s use of fertility treatments.

Either way this is yet another example of how Trump and Vance are out of touch. It shows how much they’re scrambling to find something to use to their advantage. But, like the attack on Walz’s military record, this pasta ain’t gonna stick to the wall!

IMHO. . .

Immigration

One of the biggest issues in the 2024 election is immigration. Former President Trump ordered congressional members of the GOP to block a bi-partisan border bill that was primarily authored by conservative Sen. James Lankford (R-OK). He (Trump) did not want to “give Biden a win” on the border, preferring instead to be able to campaign on the mess/chaos at the border.

In my opinion, this was extremely short-sighted (but then a lot of what the GOP does is very short-sighted). Yes, by blocking the bill, the border remained chaotic – for a little while. But, Biden quickly signed an executive order that has significantly curtailed border crossings. It may be a short-term fix, but in a sense it gave Biden a clear “win” without having to “share” the glory.

Had Congress passed the border bill, Trump could have campaigned that it was he that pushed the bill’s passage. Individual lawmakers, meanwhile, especially those in vulnerable races, probably would have become more secure in their respective elections.

Instead, the Democrats can promote two aspects: (1) the fact that the border remained insecure because the GOP made the decision not to do anything until Trump is re-elected; and (2) the fact Biden fixed the border without the GOP, temporary though it may be. The fact is border crossings today sit at less than 2,000 a day. In December 2023, 8,000 immigrants a day were crossing into the US!

What can I say – short-sighted!

In his Agenda 47, Trump has proposed some questionable policies. Let’s take a look at one or two.

First, Trump says he will end “birthright citizenship” for babies born to undocumented immigrants. Under the 14th Amendment, anyone born in the US is automatically a US citizen. Trump says this is a great incentive for immigrants to come to the US to have their children.

Trump’s proposal is to “clarify” the 14th Amendment so that it applies only to those born in and “subject to the jurisdiction” of the US. Generally, “subject to the jurisdiction” relates to those without diplomatic immunity. Many constitutional lawyers feel the proposal by Trump will be challenged and may be found to be unconstitutional.

Next, Trump’s first core promise in his Agenda 47 is to “Seal the border, and stop the migrant invasion”. See the post Agenda 47 at https://in-my-humble-opinion.com/2024/08/13/agenda-47/. This is not a new concern. Trump built several hundred miles of “border wall” to try to address the situation. Destabilization in some Latin American countries such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba has lead to the surge in migration.

Biden has put in place policies to effectively lower the number of asylum seekers. Concentrating on “root causes” VP Harris was charged with meeting with South American allies to work on solutions that discouraged immigrants from leaving their home countries. [NOTE: She was never the “border Czar”; she was never charged with securing the border. She was charged with finding the cause of immigration and helping to find solutions to those causes. Big difference!]

As noted, Biden has signed an executive order that has been somewhat effective. As of today, the number of apprehensions has lowered to summer 2020 numbers. This means whoever takes over in January will inherit a quieter border than Biden inherited!

Yet another one of Trump’s core 20 promises is the largest deportation in the history of our country. Biden is currently on track to deport as many people as the Trump administration did. The difference lies in who was “targeted”. Biden focused on recent arrivals at the border and those in the interior who were a threat to national security or public safety. Trump, on the other hand, deported people from interior arrests that were not targeted and fostered an atmosphere of fear.

Between court backlogs and limited reach of ICE, mass deportations would require Congressional action for more funding and/or legal reforms. Additionally, countries like Venezuela will not allow the US to deport individuals back to their home countries. So the disposition of people detained on day one would be up in the air. Many would not have an answer of could they stay or not until the end of the administration.

Obviously, this is not an all inclusive list of Trump immigration proposals. But, you get the gist. Promise much, deliver little! As with policies in his first administration, many of Trump’s proposal are legally questionable, if not impractical. It all sounds great on paper. But executing is another thing! That was never Trump’s forte!!

IMHO . . .

Oh Senator Graham!

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was on Meet the Press with Kristen Welker yesterday. When discussing Trump’s campaign and his chances of winning another term in the White House, Graham said “His policies are good for America. If you have a policy debate for president, he wins.”

Graham further stated that Kamala Harris is the most liberal candidate to be nominated in the history of the United States.

To his first claim that Trump’s policies are good for America, I just want to know what he’s been smoking! Trump proudly claims he was responsible for the overturn of Roe v Wade. The Dobbs decision is the first decision I can remember where the Supreme Court took away rights that Americans had previously been given. We went back 50 years!

The thing that gets me is the notion that Democrats advocate for women to get abortions, even “post-birth abortions”! What the hell is a “post-birth abortion”? Is there such a thing? I don’t think so.

But more importantly, Democrats do NOT advocate for women to get abortions. Show me one ad where the Democratic party urges women to get abortions! You can’t – because they don’t exist.

Rather, the Democratic party advocates for “choice”. If a women wants or needs an abortion, it is no one else’s business. For a party that supposedly advocates for smaller government with no interference in personal business (the GOP in case you missed it), the Republicans sure do want to be in the doctor’s exam room with a woman! Makes no sense!

And yes, I do believe “if you don’t have a uterus, you don’t get to legislate mine”!

But I stray from the gist of this post. Trump’s policies are, for the most part, stated in general terms only. For example, in the GOP 2024 Platform document, Trump advocates tariffs on all foreign made goods as a way to promote “buy American”. This is particularly true of goods made in and imported from China. However, the document does not detail how much the tariffs will be. It does make a broad statement that says, in effect, as the tariffs go up taxes will go down. It does not mention how the tariffs will affect consumers.

I can tell you how. Obviously, if the foreign manufacturer has to pay tariffs to get their goods into our market, the consumer price of the goods will go up. It makes sense to lower taxes if you’re going to charge us more for the goods we rely on daily! I don’t see this as a good thing. I think, in the long run, consumers will pay more than they do for taxes if this is passed.

Another policy stated in the Platform document is regarding taxes. The GOP proposes to make the Trump tax cuts from 2017 permanent! In campaign speeches, Trump has actually stated he wanted to lower the corporate tax even further – from 21% to 15%! I’m sorry – the 2017 tax cuts didn’t save me anything. I paid the same, if not very slightly higher – and I’m not even close to wealthy!

And don’t even get me started on Trump’s climate policies! He believes climate change is a hoax made up by scientists!

He wants to “drill, baby, drill”! Environment be damned! He wants the US to be #1 in oil production “again”. The problem here is that we’re already #1. Here’s the list of top 10 oil producing countries for calendar year 2023:

United States	North America	13,264,000
Russia	Europe/Asia	10,126,000
Saudi Arabia (OPEC)	Asia	8,950,000
Canada	North America	4,990,000
Iraq (OPEC)	Asia	4,375,000
China	Asia	4,172,000
Iran (OPEC)	Asia	4,084,000
Brazil	South America	3,585,000
United Arab Emirates (OPEC)	Asia	3,300,000
Kuwait (OPEC)	Asia	2,644,000
World Total		82,922,000

In addition to being top 5 in oil production, the United States is also top 5 in oil exports, natural gas production and natural gas exports.

By the way, from what I saw in his first administration, he’s not too keen on science, in general! Remember how he proposed drinking bleach to cure COVID?!? He denigrated Dr. Anthony Fauci, who dedicated his entire career to protecting people from infectious diseases. [The GOP is still going after Dr. Fauci! Shame on them!]

So, no, I do not agree that Trump’s policies are good for America!

As noted, Graham also stated that VP Harris is the most liberal candidate in American history. Really? What about our Founding Fathers?

I’m not sure, but wasn’t their thinking fairly “liberal” for their day? How many democracies were in existence at the time? How many countries believed in government for and by the people?

Color me stupid, but I think the Founding Fathers could have been considered liberal. Very liberal, in fact. The form of government they proposed was considered folly by many – the “American experiment”, I think it was called. Guess what? The experiment continues and will continue into the future as long as people like Trump are kept OUT of power!

Trump wants to end the “experiment” – he wants to be the American Putin. He wants power for power’s sake – and to stay out of jail!

No, I don’t think VP Harris is the most liberal candidate in our history. She is, however, the most liberal in modern times. We need liberalism and progressiveness to move into the future.

Senator Graham – WE’RE NOT GOING BACK!

Agenda 47

Written Monday, August 12, 2024

Agenda 47 (styled by the Trump campaign as Agenda47) is the policy of the Donald Trump. It details policies that would be implemented upon his election as the 47th president of the United States. Agenda 47 is a collection of formal policy plans, many of which would rely on executive orders and significantly expanded executive power. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agenda_47]

In essence, Agenda 47 is Trump’s “response” to Project 2025, which Trump disavows. Within this policy “statement” are 20 promises that Trump says he will accomplish:

Seal the border, and stop the migrant invasion
Carry out the largest deportation operation in American history
End inflation, and make American affordable again
Make America the dominant energy producer in the world, by far!
Stop outsourcing, and turn the United States into a manufacturing superpower
Large tax cuts for workers, and no tax on tips!
Defend our constitution, our bill or rights, and our fundamental freedoms, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to keep and bear arms
Prevent World War III, restore peace in Europe and in the Middle East, and build a great iron dome missile defense shield over our entire country — all made in America
End the weaponization of government against the American people
Stop the migrant crime epidemic, demolish the foreign drug cartels, crush gang violence, and lock up violent offenders
Rebuild our cities, including Washington, DC, marking them safe, clean, and beautiful again
Strengthen and modernize our military, making it, without questions, the strongest and most powerful in the world
Keep the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency
Fight for and protect social security and medicare with no cuts, including no changes to the retirement age
Cancel the electric vehicle mandate and cut costly and burdensome regulations
Cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, radical gender ideology, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children
Keep men out of women’s sports
Deport pro-Hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again
Secure our elections, including same day voting, voter identification, paper ballots, and proof of citizenship
Unite our country by bringing it to new and record levels of success

I don’t know about you but this seems a little too broad and, in some cases, “radical”. In #7 it talks about freedom of religion. However, in the actual document, it states “Republicans will champion the First Amendment Right to Pray and Read the Bible in school, and stand up to those who violate the Religious Freedoms or American students.” [https://rncplatform.donaldjtrump.com This is a PDF document. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read it.] In essence, the document promotes prayer in schools but does not say whose prayer. I have absolutely no problem with students praying or reading the Bible in school – independently! However, I do have a problem when it is part of the school curriculum. There are many religions in this country – we were built on the foundation of religious freedom. We cannot and should not assume all are Christians!

Agenda 47 also promotes ten ideas for “great schools leading to great jobs”, which range from curriculum requirements to preferential funding for schools with internship programs. To start, Trump wants to implement funding preferences and favorable treatment for states and school districts that abolish teacher tenure for grades K-12, adopt Merit Pay to reward good teachers, and give parents the right to vote for the principals who direct their children’s education.

I sit on the fence on some of this but not on “elected” principals. The leadership in our schools should not be down to politics or popularity! It should be based on qualifications alone.

In recent years, teachers have been under fire with book bans and forbidden curriculum, especially in Florida! Teacher shortages are felt everywhere, making class sizes larger and more difficult to manage. Eliminating tenure would be one more blow and would exacerbate the problem.

Trump wants to reinstate his 1776 Commission, which he originally created and was disbanded under Joe Biden to ensure our school children learn the “truth” about the country’s history and the timeless principles of liberty and equality. He will create a credentialing body to certify teachers who embrace patriotic values and support the “American Way of Life”.

The 1776 Commission is a story for another day, but in essence, was created in November 2020, as part of the backlash to the 1619 Project, which examines the history of slavery in the US. The report produced by the commission excused America’s history of slavery and undercut the legacy of the civil rights movement.

The education policies of Trump in the Agenda 47 are nothing less than politicizing the education of our future generations. I will write more about the 1776 Commission Report and provide a few more details about what it says about education.

On the surface, it sounds logical, sane, and okay. But, it’s not. I have worried about education in this country for several years. But the past few years the fear and worry is multiplied exponentially. We’re talking about our future leaders and the future of this country. Education should be one of the most important things we deal with.

Again, I acknowledge I have been disjointed in my rambling. Again, I don’t know why. The doctor’s appointment Friday went well – better than expected! But, still my head is reeling with so much of the fear about this election.

Meanwhile, my sister and I are hosting a meet & greet for two of our local candidates – one for County Commission and one for School Board. All elections count and sometimes the local elections count more!

IMHO . . .