Offering Nothing

There are offers and generally the best way to hammer out a deal is by talking to the other side nd working the details.

What we saw yesterday was a public relations attempt to sell a position that the polls show the American people don't want by wrapping it around some things that they do like, but not really offering anything.

The thing they don't want is a wall, as all the polls clearly show.

The wall does not solve any of the problems the dontard talked about, the dangerous trip to the border in central America, the importation of drugs, the exploitation by smugglers who prey on the desperate.  It would in fact probably increase the last one as they could point to it as a reason they are needed.

The things Americans do favor, protection of dreamers and refugees is currently something the courts are deciding.  Right now the courts are already stopping the attempted change to the policies and how long that will continue is anyone's guess, it might be permanent.

So three years of what is already the situation is, well, three years of nothing.

The other things he mentioned are already part of a bill that the democrats favor and all he has to do is sign it and the other funding bills to open the Government and move on.

It is certainly possible that some barriers in strategic locations could be agreed to once the Government is open, it should be based on careful analysis and data, not the whims of a dontard.

The public relations of all this is to give the impression that the dontard has made the first move and that the democrats now need to reciprocate.  What is being ignored is that they have already offered most of the effective measures he mentioned and want permanent solutions to the dreamer and refugee issues.

This was no offer at all, just a public relations ploy.  We need to see it for what it is.

Nothing at all.

Dreamers

Right now the Dreamers are in a state of limbo, seemingly forgotten about, at least in the media.

Of course the people live with the uncertainty and fears of not knowing if they can plan a future or if they have to face possible deportation to a place they probably don't remember and certainly don't know.

Imagine grabbing a teenage American and sending him to live in a foreign country, possibly with relatives, but no real roots.

Of course they would probably figure out something, we are as a species pretty adaptable, but it would be a cruel and inhumane thing to do.

There was a court decision that challenged the order abolishing the DACA program and said it was unconstitutional because it was vague.

Its not final and the thing about rulings like that is that they can be altered by reissuing the executive order with more rationale.

Still, we can't forget about the Dreamers or in fact about any of the undocumented people who are living in our country.

They aren't citizens but they still people trying to live their lives, support their families and be secure and happy.

I saw some interviews of voters in Arizona who speak as if the immigrants are stealing American jobs.

First, who are these unemployed Americans?

Second, do they even want the jobs performed by the undocumented immigrants?

Its a campaign message that doesn't stand up to scrutiny, but it apparently resonates with certain Americans who are either heartless or out of touch with economic reality.

Sad really.

Nightmares are Dreams too.

Its a pretty simple solution for the children who were brought here by undocumented parents and grew up as Americans, let us continue to live our American lives.

In some cases they may have a sibling who is one or two years younger than they are who born here is a citizen while they are in danger of being deported to a country they don't remember and don't know.

Using them as a political football, as the dotard is trying, to get people who actually care about fairness shows a clear lack of simple human decency.

His other proposals related to building a wall, ending chain migration or the lottery are neither necessary or desirable and are preventing the dreamers from being treated fairly.

Deciding that you can use these people as hostages is simply wrong, but of course ideas of right and wrong aren't very common in the white house now a days.

Will a solution be found?

It doesn't seem likely unless it is in the courts, but ultimately I think that is a dead end.

Perhaps after the mid-terms we would have a better chance if enough people get out and vote.

Still, there is the dotard to deal with and he has three more years.

Three more years.

Spending Roulette

The deadline for a spending extension or actual budget bill is midnight tonight and while the Senate seems to have got an agreement, the House hasn't.

Now its quite likely that it will accept the Senate deal, almost certainly if it goes to a floor vote where the fiscal conservatives can vote against it but it will still pass with the votes of the democrats.

It effectively ends sequestration in the manner sequestration intended, by passing a budget.

Sequestration was intended to be so harsh that it would force the congress to make a deal.

It failed for quite a while.

The spending increases in this deal may seem like a lot, but remember they have been postponed for a number of years now.

Of course we still need to address serious issues like immigration and dreamers, the deficit, the environment, entitlement programs, but it is at least a start.

With the mid-term elections now on everyone's mind and of course primary challenges to worry about we are probably in a period where little will actually happen.

But lets put down the spending revolver for now at least and try to get to work.

Missed Deadlines

In the Alice in Wonderland world of Washington DC, apparently people believe that an issue that has been contentious for years can be solved in a couple of weeks if you create a deadline.

These are our employees after all and they keep giving themselves short term extensions to do their jobs.

Clearly the public and most of the elected officials think Dreamers should be allowed to stay.  A few don't but if they held a vote to permanently extend DACA or something like it, it seems like it would pass overwhelmingly.  I also think the president would sign it although that might be less certain.

It isn't going to get voted on because of the procedural rules that govern in both chambers.

So will the solution be worked out before the next self imposed deadline?

I wouldn't bet on it.

Will they shut the Government down again?

Doesn't seem likely considering the risk, although some in the Democratic party are ready to man the ramparts, so to speak.

Still I doubt it, it could hurt the mid-term elections.

So probably another short term spending bill and another deadline will follow.

I guess November is the real deadline here.

Wall Silliness

You have to wonder what world the dotard occupies that he somehow thinks a wall between the US and Mexico will have some miraculous result.

There are so many better ways to utilize the amounts required that would achieve better results.

Clearly walls can be breached, so to prevent that you will need about the same amount of security as you would if the wall wasn't there.

The wall might keep out some harmless people who simply are looking for work or to join family in the States but it is unlikely to deter any serious person who wants to reach this country.

The idea that thousands or millions of Mexicans are simply strolling across an undefended border is ridiculous, but the dotard tends to believe the ridiculous.

Most of the border is in territory that is rugged and dangerous.

If it was a simple stroll, the coyotes wouldn't be getting rich ferrying people in various vehicles.

The areas where you can simply walk across are also the areas most heavily protected.

In fact, the desirability of coming to this country is not what it once was.

Partly because of NAFTA and other economic trends, there are more jobs in Mexico than there once was.

This paranoia about Mexican and Central American immigrants is simply misplaced.

Yes some recent and not so recent immigrants join gangs but that is nothing new.  It is also true that people born here also join gangs.

It is sad that based on the news reports the dotard wants to bargain the lives of dreamers over something as stupid as the wall is.  They deserve to have their lives decided by something other that this stupidity.

You Get What You Vote For

It seems that the only reason we have a shutdown is because the dotard wants one.

The issues are effectively non-existent for a continuing resolution since both parties agree on the main elements.

In fact there was a bipartisan solution pitched that the dotard rejected not too long ago.

Protect the dreamers and it goes away and everybody says they want too.

It seems that the dotard and republicans feel the democrats want it more so they want to use it to bargain on other immigration issues.

Even then the democrats were willing to include some money for the silly wall, but the dotard turned to jello and shifted his position.

We have to live with the jello man for another three years barring some unforeseen situation, and the simple fact is that he is not either a politician or a man of his word.

He used to change deals with his vendors all the time, often refusing to make final payments and seeing if they would bother suing him.

Many of them couldn't afford the cost of that, which is what he counted on.

He had no honor was never faithful to his wives and lied constantly.

All of this was obvious and yet he won the primaries and the electoral college.

We probably got what we deserved, or what some wanted.  A dysfunctional government.

Shutdown Politics

The issue that led to the shutdown is more along the lines of who is going to get blamed by the voters rather than any fundamental differences.

The republicans liked the fact that the dreamers felt betrayed last time and took heat for agreeing to a short term deal that didn't include them, so they knew that they couldn't do it again.  Of course they shouldn't and why should they?

There's no reason to believe that if they delay doing something no that anything will happen before the next deadline.

Both sides want to allow the dreamers to stay as do most Americans.  They are not tied to any other issues related to immigration, they are a pretty clear category of people who while being born elsewhere grew up as Americans and are as American as anyone.

Clearly they were too young to have any control over where they went or lived and at this point should be allowed to stay and ultimately become citizens.

One could of course make a similar argument for anyone who has lived in this country for many years, but if they came here as an adult they knew what they were doing so in that case they have some culpability.

Of course if the goal is to have good, hard working citizens, someone who has been just that for many years should probably be considered to have passed the probation period.

Entering this country without papers is of course a violation of US law and the main punishment is to be expelled.  That is something worth discussing but not the same as the dreamers who were young children when they came here.

Dreamers

Well thousands of young people who grew up American are now in danger of being deported in a few months.

Now these are people who came here as children and grew up much like every other child in America.

Now the fate of these people is in the hands of Congress which has trouble doing pretty much anything.

The point is that while these people who grew up here are as American as well anyone else who grew up at the same time, some people feel like they are law breakers who must be punished.

Immigration laws are odd in the fact that they impact foreign nationals who technically we have no jurisdiction over.  Now of course we should be able to control our borders although I don't think a wall is the answer but this situation is about people who have been here most of their lives and whom in many cases have brothers and sisters born after them with full rights of citizenship.

I don't see immigration as the problem some do, since we need immigrants to provide us with the momentum immigrants always provide.

It should be obvious that immigrants, in most cases are preselected as the more daring people.  They are willing to leave a relatively familiar place to embark on a new life with all the risks that entails.

This nation was always fueled by that immigration motivation to move forward and expand.

Now getting rid of the Dreamers is not going to serve any purpose for America, they are actually generally good young people contributing to society.

In fact it is likely they contribute more than their peers since that is generally the case for groups in risky situations.

They have to overcome more and become more invested than the native born video game players.

I'm sure they play their fair share of video games too, but as Dreamers many of them are doing so much more.