Being Woke

Uganda passed a law that will jail for life anyone arrested for homosexual activity. That is disturbing enough, but what is distressing are the MAGA Republicans in the United States who cheer this law.

"It's about time!"

"We should do that here!"

And other such comments.

Think about this. This is 2023, not 1923. Women have the right to vote finally. People of color have the same rights as whites. Non-Christians have the same rights as Christians. The Irish can now apply for jobs.

This is also 2023. Women are not equal to men under the Constitution. Mosques and Synagogues are bombed. Black churches and supermarkets are mass murder scenes. Women are not guaranteed the right to choose. Fascists run for president and are cheered. Books are being banned in Florida.

It is too easy to brush this off by claiming that these MAGA Republicans are just plain stupid. Many are educated. What about them?

This hate is nothing new. Those of you my age no doubt remember Republican Senator Joe McCarthy who claimed there were communists (gasp!) infiltrating America, including the federal government. Never mind that being a communist is perfectly legal. Joe McCarthy painted everyone with a big evil hate brush. McCarthy got people black listed from jobs. McCarthyism ruined lives. Because he didn't like communists, and he got MAGA-type Americans to follow him.

MAGA Republicans, and I'm including DeSantis supporters here, do not believe in diversity. They want to create laws that compel everyone to believe what they believe.

About a year ago, I first heard the word "woke" being used as a derogatory term on Fox News. More specifically "woke liberals". Being woke means to be socially aware, particularly as it pertains to race. Educated people know this. Woke was always a good thing. Fox was now making it an insult.

At the time, I thought it was pretty funny. Dumbasses. No doubt this idiocy will end quickly when the Fox fact checker gets ahold of it. But then the ignorant MAGA crowd picked up on "woke". Conservatives are proudly "anti-woke". DeSantis' campaign is centered around being anti-woke. "Florida is where woke goes to die", says DeSantis.

DeSantis has gone so far as to control what is taught in Florida schools and banning books that show the white race is a less than favorable light. Good books. Classic books.

But whether these books are appropriate for school children is not the issue. That is a question best left to educational professionals, not narcissistic politicians like DeSantis. He is micro-managing and that is never a good thing.

These are dangerous times we're now living in. Fascism is very much alive in DeSantis.

 

Kickin' This Can Down The Road

 At the urging of my hordes of fans (hi Dave!) I am restarting my old blog "Observatatin'".

My first blog, about rebuilding an old trawler and cruising down the east coast ( https://trawlerdriftaway.blogspot.com ) continues getting page view and is now a tad over 940,000. People were awestruck by my foolhardiness and foolishness and looked for its daily entries.

My second blog was about building an off grid small home in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York ( https://bleeckermountainlife.blogspot.com ) was cut short by a tree-head accident. Although peppered with stories of living with Sasquatch all around us, that blog did not amaze as much as the former blog, it is still cruising at 277,000 hits.

Between the two, page views are heading to the one million territory. My goat is to hit that mark, so I am dusting off Observatatin'.

This blog will not be updated daily. Not even close. I will write a new post as humor and/or political urgency demands. The humorous side is usually about the stupid things I do, as my ex'es Jahnn and Pamela will attest to. But since there is not much funny about living in an old folks home, it will most likely be my singular and usually unique takes on politics as only a grumpy old man can do.

I am not really a Democrat. But I am certainly NOT a Republican. I best describe myself as an Eisenhower Republican. You young folks (and the majority of older Americans) have no idea what that is.

So please join me on this internet cruise to one million page views and beyond. If it helps, envision me as a curmudgeonly wrinkled old codger rocking on his porch and yelling at Biden, Trump, and DeSantis to get off my lawn.

The Truth About Our Southern Border

I just want to say a brief word (HAHAHAHA) about what's going on at our southern border. There are two schools of thought.

First, the one that Fox Nooz projects. That of "hordes" (their word) of "illegals" (their word) "massing" (their word) at our border. The news segment is usually followed up with news of how terrible fentanyl is and how it is killing "innocent" (my word) Americans. Then a segment about how crime is so horrible in Democrat sanctuary cities. Then a bit about how Biden wants to keep our social programs for the poor in place, implying, of course, that Illegals carrying fentanyl are massing at our southern border to collect welfare, sell drugs, and kill people.

The second, which is my opinions and the correct ones, is that if these folks who walk hundreds and thousands of miles to get to a border crossing to seek refuge and enter our country properly are most likely not packing fentanyl and are not cartel members. Those who show just cause why they left their home countries are admitted as refugees and are legal. Those who are turned away are also legal.

This next point is important. The ones admitted cannot collect from any federal social assistance program for five years. That's right. Five whole years. During that time, they must find their own way to survive, which is usually friends and family, or sponsors. No, they cannot rent a slum apartment and live on the government dole. All countries have such immigration requirements.

The term "illegal immigrant" regarding those who cross borders never made any sense to me. Think about it. Being an immigrant implies legality. If someone sneaks across the border they are not immigrating.

The real problem, of course, are illegal border crossers (a better term). Or perhaps bandits. Some word that suggests criminality would work better.

The vast, vast majority of "illegal immigrants" are those who enter the country legally, usually flying here, and then overstay their visas. Or those brought here as children. These are best termed "undocumented aliens". Since it costs so much money to obtain a green card I would like to believe that these people just can't afford the fees, but love this country so much that they simply stay here.

What is saddest to me are the "dreamers". These folks were brought here as children. If their parents become US citizens before they reach the age of 18, they also become citizens. But once past the age of 18 they are not, per the Child Citizen Act of 2000. These people are American in every sense of the word, but may be deported. The Dream Act of 2011 and the Dream Act of 2017 was meant to fix this, but they failed to become law.

Obama announced that his administration would stop deporting Dreamers with his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that DACA reduced the federal deficit by $1.5 billion and increased federal revenue by $2.3 billion over ten years. Unsurprisingly , DACA was scrapped in Trump's first year as president. In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump's action was unconstitutional and reinstated DACA.

In 2021, a Republican federal judge ruled DACA was unlawful. A Republican US District Court judge also ruled DACA unlawful. Currently, no DACA requests are processed.

Now, Trump is running for president, and Ron DeSantis, the fascist governor of Florida, is running as well. With Fox Nooz spewing its hateful, inflammatory, racist rhetoric, immigration to the US is in turmoil and in peril. Even for people brought here as children.

If only Native Americans had such laws in place when Pilgrims arrived...