I worry about the veracity of everything I read and wish others stopped to, as well.
Three observations:
1 - Ironically, Trump has been the antithesis of most politicians. He really has set out to do exactly what he campaigned and said he would.
2 - There have been a few things that I approve of or don't have as strong of feelings about.
3 - I am so glad I did not vote for him. Not that that will change anything.
Who knows when Shane will read this or if it will hit the history books, but I figured I'd pick one thing to mention briefly: The immigration ban.
Trump signed an executive order that included this:
"I hereby proclaim that the immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of aliens from countries referred to in section 217(a)(12) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1187(a)(12), would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and I hereby suspend entry into the United States, as immigrants and nonimmigrants, of such persons for 90 days from the date of this order "
He listed seven states, all middle-eastern and Muslim majority, but omitted several other similar states that have stronger business ties to the US.
Proponents for it online say that it will make our country safe. It will keep out terrorists who could be hiding as refugees. They also point out that Obama passed a similar "ban" for six months on refugees from Iraq.
Opponents say that the ban is unconstitutional and violates the spirit of the United States itself. They say it targets Muslims which violate the 1st Amendment, leaves refugees in deadly situations, and makes the US look like racist assholes to the rest of the world.
Proponents call Opponents snowflakes and fools.
Opponents call Proponents racist assholes.
Both sides can probably agrees that the speed of the executive action took them by surprise. It happened overnight and caused chaos at international airports. There are stories of couples split, mothers unable to nursefeed children, and lawyers swarming to offer pro-bono help to people trapped for hours and hours. The Acting Attorney General (leftover from Obama's Presidency and holding down the fort during confirmation hearings) went on record to refuse to enforce something she thought was un-Constitutional and Trump fired her.
Honestly, it's a mess. I couldn't be more against the travel ban. I feel like I could write an essay or a research paper on exactly why.
That said, it's 11 PM, Shane and I have the flu, he woke me up at 4 AM today, refused to nap, and this is a backdated blog.
So I'll go with one quick point: The whole thing reeks of fear politics.
If the point of the ban is to increase the safety of the US then the people who want the ban to to prevent ISIS from "recruiting refugees as they have stated they want to do," have just approved what could be the biggest ISIS refugee recruitment tool to date. Over 900 state diplomats signed a petition stating their dissent to the order.
Furthermore, it alienates our allies.
For example: I read about Trump's meeting with the Australian leader and was dismayed about how moronic Trump sounded. From what I read, there was a previous agreement where the US would accept 1,250 refugees that the Australians had detained if those refugees passed through a rigorous screening process.
Supposedly, Trump insisted it was a horrible deal for the US to accept 2,000 refugees when one of them would be the next Boston bomber. I don't believe everything I read online, but when the POTUS tweets this?
Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal!
It sounds like the story with the Australian PM repeatedly trying to correct him on the numbers is correct.
After the disagreement the PM, Malcom Turnbull, gave a much more intelligent response than a tweet.
"Look, I'm not going to comment on a conversation between myself and the President of the United States other than what we have said publicly, and you can surely understand the reasons for that," [Turnbull] said. "I'm sure you can understand that. It's better these conversations are conducted candidly, frankly, privately. If you'll see reports of them, I'm not going to add to them." (CNN)
Crazy times. Some Republicans have voiced their dissent, but the majority have remained silent. If what I read online is any indication, the nation itself is split and there's a very wide gap between the sides.
I'm waiting to see what the Legislative and Judicial responses will be. Will Trump's president highlight and cement the checks and balances system? Will it strain it?
God reigns either way.
Stay tuned.
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