I think most of us watched the 2018 Midterm Elections with extreme interest. Now that the 116th Congress has been sworn in, you'll want to know what they are doing and most importantly how they are voting on issues that affect you. I wanted to let you know about a great website you can track the voting records of anyone in Congress. GovTrack.us.
The site keeps track of all bills and votes and lets you search by representatives in your area or by categories of different types of legislation. The site features a trove of information and also articles and analysis. It is a non-government website so you know they report non biased data.
Keep track of your representatives and let them know what you think of their voting record and on the issues important to you.They working for you. Participate in your democracy.
Ok, this isn’t new news, it’s old news, but
it’s something that’s been bothering me for a long time and I need to get it
off my chest, so bear with me.
At the outset, let me just say that I’m no
fan of President Trump or his administration. Nor am I a fan of White House
Press Secretary Sandra Huckabee Sanders. Actually, this has less to do with her
and more with how we should treat one another.
On Friday, June 22nd, 2018,
Sarah Sanders arrived at the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, VA. She was the
last to arrive to a table of 8 including her husband. Soon afterward, the owner,
Stephanie Wilkinson arrived at the restaurant after being informed that Ms. Sanders
was there. Shortly after being served, Wilkinson came over and asked to speak
to Ms. Sanders outside. She is quoted as saying her establishment,
“has certain standards to uphold such as
honesty, compassion, and cooperation. I’d like to ask you to leave.” To which
Sanders responded, “That’s fine, I’ll go.” Sanders soon left without incident
along with everyone at the table. They were not asked to pay, being told their
order was, “on the house.” The owner had consulted the other staff before
speaking to Ms. Sanders. “Tell me what you want me to do? I can ask her to
leave.”, she said. They said, “Yes”.
The owner had her reasons. Having several
LGBT workers on her staff, she sited the Press Secretary’s comments defending
President Trump’s ban on transgender personnel in the military. This was also
at a time when The White House was under extreme criticism both at home and
abroad over its controversial policy of criminally prosecuting every
undocumented immigrant crossing the Mexican border, a policy that led to over
2,300 children being separated from their families.
I personally agree with Ms. Wilkinson’s
feelings on these matters. That policy was inhumane and wrong. But asking Ms.
Sanders to leave for no other reason was also wrong.
The next day, Sanders spoke about the
incident on twitter.
“Last night I was told to leave by the
owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA. to leave because I work for @POTUS and I
politely left. Her actions say far more about her than me.” She was later
accused of violating federal ethics laws over the tweet and maybe she did, but
this is beside the point.
The owner later said that since Sanders was
a White House official and not a normal citizen, it was somehow OK. That is
irrelevant. Sanders was not there in any official capacity, she was just going
to dinner with her family and friends.
At around this time, the news was ripe with
stories of restaurants calling the police on black patrons just waiting or
chatting. That was wrong, too. Media outlets universally condemned these acts.
Of course, there was a huge backlash after
the Red Hen incident including Sander’s tweet. Many protested the restaurant as
prejudiced and many others came to the owner’s defense. All of this led to the
restaurant being temporarily closed.
This is in sharp contrast to a similar incident
that happened a few weeks later at the beginning of July. Embattled by
multiple scandals, disgraced head of the EPA Scott Pruitt was confronted by a
mother as he was eating in a restaurant. The woman chastised him over his
failure to uphold the values of his office and protect the environment and she
urged him to resign. Pruitt didn’t respond and left without incident. He
resigned not long after. Good riddance I say. This situation was different
however. The woman was another patron and she was exercising her right of
freedom of speech. More importantly, Pruitt wasn’t forced to leave by the
establishment.
If someone is being disruptive or abusive
to other patrons or staff, they should be asked to leave. However, if the owner refuses service or asks someone to leave based solely on
the color of their skin, their religion, their sexual orientation, their
political beliefs, or who they happen to work for, we have a word for that; it’s
called discrimination.
If I was a conservative owner of a
restaurant and a famous liberal politician came in and if I then asked him to
leave for that reason, that would be equally wrong.
Unfortunately, it appears the courts may
support business’ right to chose who and who not to serve. In the same month,
the U.S. Supreme Court sided with a Colorado baker who had refused to bake a
wedding cake for a gay couple based on his religious beliefs.
I find this trend disturbing. I believe
religion and politics should be left out of business and service industries.
Following this line of thinking, what’s next? Will we have liberal only and
conservative only restaurants? Muslim only or Christian only stores? Gay only
or straight only businesses? It feels like we’re going backwards. All should be
treated and served equally.
I understand that many viewed the owner’s
decision to ask Sanders to leave as a symbol of the people fighting back
against a corrupt and immoral government. I agree with the sentiment. But we
shouldn’t have a double standard. If we want to protect the rights of those we
agree with, we must also protect the rights of those we don’t agree with.
I don’t know. Maybe it’s just my Midwestern bias, I’m from Kansas. Or it might be the fact I’ve been living in Japan where politeness is so important. I just felt it was disrespectful and…well, rude.
The great wall of China stretches over 5000
miles long. It’s one of the greatest engineering feats of the ancient world and
a great symbol of China.
Trump’s border wall on the other hand won’t
be nearly so grandiose in scope. It will only be…well let’s see, nobody really
knows. Anyway, despite a lack of details, Trump’s wall is also a symbol. It
started as a symbol of xenophobia and immigration fears of Trump’s conservative
base. It quickly became a symbol of change and a centerpiece of Trump’s
campaign.
Over the course of his presidency, the wall
has been a safe haven for Trump. Whenever under attack, whether it be the
Muller probe, his revolving door administration, more “fake news”, or the plethora of lawsuits and indictments against him, he
always had the wall to fall back on. If things were going badly, he’d start
harping about the wall again for two reasons;
1)It’s a distraction from attack
or a diversion to draw your attention away from some agenda he’s trying to push
through.
2)It’s a sure fire way to stoke
up support in his base and make him feel loved again. They believe in the wall.
Is illegal immigration a problem? Yes it
is? Do illegal immigrants sometimes commit crimes in the US? Yes they do. Does
border control need more support and upgrades? Maybe, but it sure the hell
doesn’t need $5Bn wall and congress is calling him on it.
There is no emergency. There is no crisis
at the border. The wall is, for lack of a better word, bullshit.
First of all, research shows that illegal
immigration in the USA has actually been declining. According to 2016 data from
The Pew Research Center, the illegal or undocumented immigrant poplulation was
about 10.7 million. That was the lowest number since 2007. Furthermore, the
number of undocumented immigrants in the US workforce has declined during the
same period. According to the Customs and border patrol, in 2018, approximately
400,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended and an additional 125,000 presented
themselves at ports of entry. This makes about 525,000 people. However, this is
far smaller than the 1.6 million that were apprehended in 2000.
Also, the overwhelming majority, about two
thirds of undocumented immigrants have lived in the US for over a decade. Many
immigrants become illegal when their visas run out, not because of a great
influx from the border. One study from MIT Sloan suggested that
the illegal immigrant population may be much higher than 10.7 million, as much
as double, but the authors were quick to point out it does not indicate an increase in recent years. In fact, a larger immigrant population would mean crime rates are actually lower per capita among immigrant communities.
As far as crime, the State department did find that
for federal crimes, undocumented immigrants made up a disproportionately higher
number of federal inmates. However, the vast majority of crimes (over 90
percent) are dealt with at state and local levels where jurisdictions rarely
record immigration status of prisoners. In addition, numerous studies have shown
that crime rates in areas with high immigrant populations actually decrease.
After two years and without a single brick
in place, what began as a symbol of change has become a symbol of something
else. To his supporters it’s a symbol of failure to live up to his campaign
promises. To his critics, it’s a symbol the Alice-in-Wonderland like fantasy world
where Trump resides. And it’s becoming more and more a liability to his
administration. In a recent interview, outgoing Chief of Staff John Kelly said,
in stark contrast to Trump’s statements, “To be honest, it’s not a wall.”, instead
calling it “fencing”, “a barrier”, or “steel slats.” He went on to say, “Illegal
immigrants overwhelmingly are not bad people.” This is coming from the former
secretary of Homeland Security and a retired four star general.
Trump’s wall has been the center of the
gridlock over the government shutdown, Feeling increased pressure from the
right and criticism from the left, Trump finds himself deeper and deeper in a
hole he himself dug. As the shutdown continues, and even after the President's National address, the fog is clearing and the people can see Trump's wall for what it is, a politically motivated sham.
I think most foreigners don’t have a
realistic idea of what America is like. Being an expatriate(I’ve never really
liked that word) gives me the unique perspective of being on the outside
looking in. If you look at America from the outside, watching the media,
movies, celebrities, etc., you get the impression that America is a very
liberal, progressive country, but what you don’t readily see is that America at
its heart is a very conservative place.
This is why so many people in other
countries, and a lot of Americans too were surprised when Trump won the 2016 presidential election. A
large segment of society, largely unseen, felt they were losing their country.
They felt unrepresented in modern America and they wanted change. Why Trump got
elected is pretty simple, Hilary Clinton represented the status quo, more of
the same. Trump represented change. Never mind what kind of change, but change
nonetheless.
On the other hand, if you look at it historically,
it shouldn’t be that surprising. The pendulum of history swings back and forth.
It seems only natural that a two-term democratic president would be followed by
a republican.
Last November, I watched the mid-term
elections very closely. I was more engaged because it was the first time I
voted since moving to Japan nearly 20 years ago. I felt there was more at stake
this time.
The democrats did well and got a pretty
good “blue wave” winning a majority in The House of Representatives. This
includes from my home district as well, Sharice Davids, one of two Native
American women elected to congress for the first time in history. For that I’m
glad.
But again, looking at only the election
results from the outside, it appears America is a very liberal place. This is
somewhat misleading. For me, one of the most revealing things to come out of
the election was the congressional results map. If you want to see the true heart of America,
look no further.
With districts won by republicans in red,
and those won by democrats in blue, it was a sharp contrast. Most of the
country is red with blue islands and outcrops here and there. Of course, the
blue areas mostly represent big cities and urban areas with higher population
density. Red districts take most rural areas. The results are clear, democrats
win by population, but republicans by territory. This is nowhere more apparent
than my home state of Kansas. District three is the smallest in the state, but
has the largest population.
If you were to land at random anywhere in
America, you’d most likely land in areas that embrace more traditional,
conservative values. That’s the irony of America, it looks blue on the outside,
but is red at heart.
The other day, I was standing in front of
the kitchen sink staring out the window, lost in my own world.
“Jason.”, my wife said. “What are you
doing?”
I abruptly snapped out of it. “Oh, nothing.”,
I said and went back to washing the dishes. It’s my job to wash the dishes
after dinner, but I had been immersed in thought. Actually, that’s when I do
some of my best thinking.
I had been thinking about a lot of the things
I’d been reading in the news of late.
First, was the controversy surrounding then
San Fransisco 49ers player Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem
at NFL games. The first time I saw the report on the news I wasn’t sure what to
think. As a gut reaction, I didn’t like it. A lot of people said he was
insulting the flag and indirectly, all the men and women who have served or are
serving in the US military. They had a point. I felt it was disrespectful and
couldn’t imagine myself doing that. I remember thinking somewhat cynically, “What
a hypocrite, an NFL player earning millions of dollars protesting the flag over
racial inequality.” But deep inside was a seed of doubt. To be honest, I really
didn’t understand what he was protesting about. But I started to read more
about why he was kneeling, specifically, to protest police brutality and police
killings of people of color. Kaepernick explained,
“I’m not going to stand up and show pride
in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color…To me
this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the
other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and
getting away with murder. “
The protest had become associated with the
Black Lives Matter movement. The more I saw him and other players peacefully
protesting, the more I understood and I came to respect and support what they were
doing.
I was even more deeply impressed when I
learned that it was a former NFL player and veteran, Nate Boyer, who helped
give Colin the idea to kneel in the first place. In the beginning, Kaepernick
only sat during the anthem. When Boyer, a former Green Beret saw this on TV, he
felt insulted and angry. He later penned an open letter to Kaepernick stating
his opinion. Later, the two men met to discuss their opposite views. One of the
first things Kaepernick did was thank Boyer for his military service. This
surprised and impressed him. Over the course of their conversation, as the two
men respectfully listened and talked to one another, the idea of kneeling came
up. We kneel to pray or grieve a fallen comrade. It was a compromise.
Kaepernick would protest the injustice he felt but at the same time show more
respect to those in uniform. Afterward, Boyer was quoted, “I told him if they
knelt, I would be next to them with my hand on my heart, because I support your
right to peacefully protest in this country. That’s what I fought for.”
The protest gained even more recognition
after he started kneeling with athletes from many sports joining in.
All of this was put into a new perspective
after watching the now famous speech by then, Texas senatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke.
In the video that soon went viral, O’Rourke, at a town meeting is asked what
he thought about athletes kneeling at games. In an impassioned response, he
said, “I can think of nothing more American.” O’Rourke went further and put
taking a knee into a larger context and compared it to protests during the
civil rights movement of the 60s.
“The freedoms that we have were purchased
not only by those in uniform…but also by those who took their lives into their hands
riding those Greyhound buses, The Freedom Riders in the deep south.”
It made me realize there’s a lot more to freedoms and rights
than what’s stated in the Constitution.
These are the things I was mulling over as I
stood there in front of the kitchen sink. Thinking about this and other rights
movements I had a realization, what Samuel L. Jackson would call a “moment of clarity":
1)Rights and privileges are not
given freely, but must be fought for.
2)With the exception of the
Revolutionary and Civil wars, American rights and privileges have not been gained
by the American military. Men and women in uniform fight to defend and protect
these rights, but new freedoms are won by contentious American citizens
exercising their rights of free speech and peaceful assembly on American soil.
Activists are met with hostility and criticism.
This is often because their views are ahead of the curve of public opinion and
not yet accepted by the mainstream. And I’m not just talking about the 60’s
either. Many movements have helped secure American rights throughout our
history.
In May, 1886 several people died in Chicago
as a result of protests for a 8 hour work day. This was part of the labor
movement in America and worldwide that helped win basic rights for workers like
a 40 hour work, health insurance, and a two day weekend. It's hard to imagine a world where people fought and died to work 8 hours a day and have Saturday and Sunday off.
Women only won the right to vote everywhere
in America in 1920 after decades of struggle in the women’s suffrage movement.
Today it's taken for granted.
Today, same-sex marriage is universally
protected in all 50 states, but was legal in only one state in 2004. It would
have been hard to imagine this even 30 years ago. That’s how much public
opinion has changed. All these rights we enjoy today were fought for over years
on street corners, on the floors of legislators, in the voting booths, and in
the courts.
We owe a great debt not only to men and
women in uniform, but to average citizens who took a stand and took risks to
make their world a better place. We can’t all be activists, but we should all
be engaged in politics on a national and local level. Pick a side, take a
stand, vote, participate in your democracy. I
can think of nothing more American.
