The Day MAGA Comes True

Note: I've taken a long break from this blog. The reason is simple, it wasn't helping. The therapy of writing for me is being able to express thoughts without having to resort to using a torrent of obscenities backed by unbridled anger to make a point. The new norm of public vitriol has made that difficult but some things cannot be left unsaid, so here goes.

I wake up each day looking forward with optimism. It's not a happy reason for optimism but it's a reason; I know that every passing day puts us one day closer to the twenty first century version of the Nuremberg trials. I can see the courtroom now. It looks very similar to its 1945 counterpart but seated in the guarded defendant box isn't Hermann Göring but Donald Trump and the other assorted members of his administration that have perpetrated crimes against humanity.

The charge of crimes against humanity is not hyperbole. This President ordered the incarceration of children with absolutely no plan of how to reunite them with their parents after due process. Those incarcerated entered the country illegally with their parents, a misdemeanor under U.S. law. The extent to which this policy exceeded not only the level of crime but the definition of cruel and unusual punishment is staggering. Children have been taken from their parents' custody and jailed in warehouse sized internment camps where the "caregivers" have been instructed not to pick them up to provide comfort. The depth of cruelty in this treatment is nearly unimaginable. The trauma inflicted on the kids is permanent, so is the humanitarian stain on the United States.

The President reversed course this week after polls showed nearly seventy percent of the country disagreed with the policy. Now the administration faces a daunting task of reuniting detainee families - an outcome for which they never planned nor one for which they the wherewithal to deliver. Some of these kids will never see their parents again. That is a shameful tragedy that will forever mark Trump in history.

Hearing those that support the President justify this atrocity is sickening. One commentator on the Fox News propaganda outlet went so far as to say, "Like it or not, these are not our kids." Others have made equally reprehensible statements comparing these prisons to summer camps. Some actions of the opposition tread on the sublime like Kirstjen Nielsen being shouted out of a Mexican restaurant after being inexplicably tone deaf to the controversy, let alone the irony, of showing up at all. Public shaming of these individuals is anything but off limits given the level of atrocity for which they are accountable. However, the sad fact remains, there is significant support in America for this most un-American of policies. Could a full thirty percent of the population condone Trump's use of child abuse as an illegal immigration deterrent? As abhorrent as it sounds, it appears to be true.

It's unclear how bad things will get before things get better. The number of Americans that actively condone or are silently complicit racism, homophobia, xenophobia, child abuse, and the destruction of the environment is surprising. The countermovement against Trump remains grass roots and not well organized. The Democratic Party remains without a definitive leader that can unify the opposition and usher in the much predicted blue wave.

It's very possible a blue wave simply may not happen in 2018. However, change will happen eventually as will the harsh judgement of these times by history.

Nuremberg is coming for Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Jeff Sessions, Kirstjen Nielsen, Stephen Miller, and the common thugs they've dressed up in ICE uniforms to do their dirty work. They will have their day in court and the opportunity to defend the indefensible. That will be the day that makes America great again. Today, we are one day closer.

List of Shame

Since the Valentine's Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida, below is the list of definitive steps taken by lawmakers anywhere in America to reduce gun violence:



Here is a list of gun related violence and/or threats of gun violence against schools in America since the Parkland shooting:

Mt. Pleasant, MI: A Central Michigan University student opens fire inside his dorm killing his own parents.

Everett, WA: Authorities arrested an 18 year old who was said to be planning an mass shooting inside a school; the alleged plan was foiled by his grandmother.

Durham, CT: Troopers arrested a high school student for threatening violence and insinuating a school shooting.

Skowhegan, ME: A social media post showed an image of an AR-15 accompanied by a threat, "Skowhegan, February 28, 2018 you're all DEAD".

Vadnais Heights, MN: A 13 year old and his parents were arrested after he made a threat and negligently stored guns were recovered from his home.

West Haven, CT: 14 year old student charged after he made threats against staff and displayed pictures of guns.

Rutland, VT: 18 year old told authorities he wanted to cause "mass casualties" at local school; police recovered a shotgun and ammo and books about Columbine shooting.

Elkhorn, NE: 17 year old student wrote in a classmate's notebook that a school shooting would happen on a certain date using his parent's gun.

Tulsa, OK: Police arrested 23 year old man who made threats against area schools; they recovered guns and ammo from his home.

Lexington County, SC: A Chapin High School student was charged with making a threat of violence against the school by reportedly writing "Shooting up the school tomorrow!" on a bathroom wall.

Collier County, FL: Officers found a note in an 18 year old's backpack that threatened to, "shoot up school," along with a list of names of students and a drawing of a student with bullet holes to the chest.

West Palm Beach, FL: Police arrested a student who brought two guns to his high school.

Towson, MD: A 14-year-old boy was arrested February 15 after being found with a pellet gun at Loch Raven High School.

Broward County, FL: A 13-year-old girl posted a threat on Instagram that students at Central Charter School would be killed. The sixth grader allegedly gave two dates: February 20 or 22.

Flower Mound, TX: Police arrested a 16-year-old at his high school after officers found a small-caliber handgun in his backpack.

Spartanburg, SC: A 9th grader posted a photo showing an assault rifle with the words "round 2 of Florida tomorrow".

Sugar Hill, GA: A Lanier High School student faces criminal charges and disciplinary action after being found with a gun on campus.

Snellville, GA: A South Gwinnett High School student arrested after posting a video online showing himself loading a gun before saying, "South Gwinnett — you're next."

Jackson Township, OH: A 7th grader shot and killed himself inside a school restroom; he had planned a mass shooting but changed his mind.

Rowlett, TX: 17 year old arrested for sitting in his car outside of high school event with a semiautomatic rifle and 100 rounds of ammunition.

Whittier, CA: A school employee heard a 17-year-old student telling a classmate, "I guarantee you the school will be shot up in three weeks".

Arlington, TX: Three teens were arrested after scrawling on a wall and writing online that they were planning to attack their school.

Orono, MN: High school student wrote in Twitter post: "Orono is not safe. Today at 12:00 I will shoot up the school myself".

Hitchcock, TX: 18-year-old student threatened to turn school into "another Florida".

Brethren, MI: 17-year-old arrested after sheriff received tip that the student threatened to attack his high school. A semiautomatic rifle was found in his home.

This list isn't even complete but it's enough to demonstrate American schools are under siege. Sadly, the list of shame showing no action by lawmakers is not only complete but also horrifying and morally offensive. It's no wonder children are mobilizing across the nation to demand gun control. They are literally facing threats every single day while adults do nothing.

It's unconscionable that anyone reading this list could not demand action to end the insanity. The depth of greed demonstrated by lawmakers protecting the gun industry is stunning in its blatant callousness and disregard for constituents that are dying almost daily.

Those clinging to the Second Amendment argument that guns are the only way to prevent government tyranny are so far out of the times it's almost laughable. These paranoid zealots have more to be concerned about when it comes to fighting an electronic war with the government over cyber profiling than a shooting war over guns.

There is noting more to say. The time for change is now. Sensible gun control is the only thing this country has not tried to stop the violence. It's time. Stop the bloodshed. Stop the insanity. Stop the guns.

Dumbest Idea in the History of Dumb: Arming Teachers

Are we really having a conversation about arming teachers as a viable way to prevent another mass shooting in a school? This is the single dumbest idea ever put forward. If there was an award for dumbest idea in the history of dumb this one would win. What's worse, is this grand dumb of dumb is being put forward by the President of the United States.

Arming teachers is a giant step forward in turning schools into literal prisons and one not so giant step away from turning America into a Mad Max-like dystopian hellscape.

Donald Trump has repeatedly demonstrated he's a "stable genius" but arming school teachers is a ridiculous idea even for someone with his two digit IQ. What's more surprising is that a segment of America seems to agree with his insane proposal. The sad irony may be that decades of neglect to the American education system has created so many idiots in America that we're actually having a national conversation about an impractically stupid idea that irresponsibly puts children further into harms way. The world this collective idiocracy envisions is barely acceptable as a community of inmates let alone as a community of learning. 

What's even better is the notion that in a country where schools are already so underfunded, Trump is ready to hand out free guns to teachers that have setup GoFundMe pages in order to get basic classroom supplies. Some quick math shows 3.5 million teachers in the U.S. times $400 for a quality 9mm pistol equals $1.4 billion that will not go toward improving American education.

It shouldn't take long to see exactly how well arming teachers improves school safety. A safe guess would be about a month after institution of the policy before the first fatality occurs as the result of a teacher issued firearm falling into the wrong hands. Either via accident or intent, one or more children will die as a result. Presumably, once that happens the next idea put forward by the President will be to arm every student as compliment to the teacher militia.

This insanity must stop. More guns is the strategy that we've been living with for decades and the net result has been more gun related deaths and more mass shootings. A strategy of more guns on top of more guns is not the answer. This favorite NRA trope was debunked during the Parkland massacre itself as at least three armed deputies were onsite but failed to engage the shooter. The science is in from across the world where gun homicide doesn't exist at the American scale when strong gun control measures are in place. Of course, to Trump and the aforementioned idiocracy, science is a four letter word.

Fear is an inherent instinct that all humans have. Flight, not fight is the natural reaction when presented with an extreme situation. It takes a special brand of courage to overcome the flight instinct and that courage doesn't come from a gun. Parkland Athletic Director Chris Hixon and football coach Aaron Feis demonstrated that courage when they heroically gave their lives to protect students. Their courage didn't come from a gun. The trained law enforcement officers at Parkland made a different choice, guns not withstanding.

Trump and the vast majority of the chest thumping ignoramuses barking about arming teachers instinctively would have chosen flight in a similar situation, gun or not. Given the President's demonstrated penchant to focus on himself, it's hard to imagine Trump responding like Hixon or Feis regardless.

Trump and other lawmakers calling for armed classrooms are hypocritical cowards. How dare they ask teachers to also take on the responsibility of soldier when they themselves live in gun free bliss. The Secret Service doesn't allow guns anywhere near the President and Capitol Hill is a gun free zone with its own police force keeping lawmakers safe. Let's see how eager Cadet Bone Spurs or Congress would be to have their security details pulled and be issued firearms instead. Few would embrace that idea because it's idiotic, just as idiotic as their proposal to arm teachers.

There are simply some people in America that choose guns as the cause by which they define themselves above logic, compromise, or all else. It's a choice that defies understanding beyond concluding there is a segment of scared and selfish people that cannot be reached. These people may be fine with their own children growing up in militaristic, armed prisons, however, they are not the majority and, if Parkland has taught us anything, they are also not the future.

Today's children don't want to grow up sentenced to twelve years in an armed prison camp. They will not want their own children to grow up that way either. They've so far been failed by their parents and grand parents generations but now is the time for the elder generations to learn from the next.

Listen to the young people today that have been irreparably changed by the violence and fear they have endured. Hear their pain, hear their ask, and act to stop the insanity. Use your vote, you wallet, and your conscience to stop the NRA, stop Trump, and stop guns from owning and destroying America.

#GunControlNow

Another 17 people died this week as victims of a senseless mass shooting. The attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida was the 30th mass shooting in the United States in 2018. Let that sink in; the Parkland massacre was the 30th time multiple people were shot in the first 45 days of the calendar year. What does that say about America? It says we are a nation that chooses to place common sense and special interest above the protection its citizens - and sadly again in this case, its children.

There should be no debate here. This country needs common sense gun control. Gun right people, just stop. The argument is invalid. The 2nd Amendment of the Constitution was written 200+ years ago when democracy was an experiment and muzzleloaders that shot a lead ball took more than a minute to reload. Today, the democracy experiment has proven viable and automatic weapons that can fire multiple hallow point bullets per second are a reality Jefferson never could have imagined. It makes no sense to apply 18th century logic to 21st century reality. We don't do that with medicine; leeches are no longer the treatment for tonsillitis. The logic around guns must also follow the times.

Gun owners, no one wants your hunting rifles. We want gun sense; obtaining a hunting license can be more difficult than buying the gun with which you plan to hunt. That bar needs to change. We are failing to keep society safe. Lack of common sense gun control has led to the loss of countless lives. How do we know? We know because gun control is the one thing we haven't tried to end the violence.

We are the only nation in the world that has a mass shooting epidemic. The U.S. makes up 5% of the world's population but is home to 31% of the world's mass shooters. The gun culture in the U.S. is driven by a false perception that guns offer protection against violent crime or a baseless paranoia that an armed population is the check and balance against government oppression. None of that is true.

Guns are rarely used to kill criminals or stop crimes. Firearm incidents where lethal force was used in self defense number in the low hundreds each year. Criminal homicides with a firearm number in the tens of thousands.

It's also time to call out the reprehensible behavior the gun industry and gun lobby promotes. Whether scare propaganda that comes from a coiffed source like NRA President Wayne LaPierre, or a raw conspiracy theorist like Alex Jones, the motive is the same. Money and power. The gun industry is an $8 billion enterprise. The NRA is more than a $350 million business. Jones has a net worth of $10 million. Neither the industry or the piles of human garbage that act as their mouthpiece give one iota about individual rights. They care about the money and power conscription of the stupid provides. Marshaling the masses to buy guns with propaganda claims of self defense or the impingement of rights keeps the gun economy booming.

The outcome of this conscription is infuriating and gets personal in every city and town. A man in my own area decided he needed to bring a sidearm to a school concert. I have pity for his monumental insecurity but the fact that he's a coward shouldn't entitle him to bring a gun everywhere he travels. It must be terrible to go through life so afraid. Ironically, today's school children may feel similar fear as a result of his brand of cowardice behavior. These not-men often declare guns aren't the problem, people are. That is partly true; people are to blame and it's precisely these gun zealots that represent the human component in that statement. The other truth remains that a weapon like an AR-15 has no place in the hands of a civilian.

In the wake of Parkland expect profiteering politicians to offer nothing more than thoughts and prayers to victims. Fact, the top 10 senators and house members receiving NRA contributions are all Republicans. That speaks volumes about the values of the GOP but guns are not a totally partisan issue as a lesser number of Democrats also take money from the gun lobby. These morally failed people are complicit in the killing of innocent Americans - American children. NRA blood money is their lifeline to retaining power. Active obstruction of common sense gun control keeps the cash from going to potential opponents. Their longevity in office comes at the cost of lives. Why do we accept this as status quo?

The fact is we won't have to accept it forever. Any child that feels unsafe in their school today will grow up to be a voter that will destroy the NRA and GOP. To forgive and forget the danger both groups have placed on today's kids will not be in the cards. Knowing there will be a day without the NRA or today's GOP fills me with joy but the fact these same children have to fear going to school in the here and now makes me seethe with literal hatred for the human garbage obstructing gun control legislative action today.

We've have failed our children. The choice now is whether to stand complicit while more of them die until they become old enough to enact the change they inevitably will, or do we find the strength to finally stand against the greed soaked, morally bankrupt special interests, lawmakers, and gun zealots obstructing that change today.

Read these names: Alyssa Alhadeff, 14; Scott Beigel, 35; Martin Duque Anguiano, 14; Nicholas Dworet, 17; Aaron Feis, 37; Jaime Guttenberg, 14; Christopher Hixon, 49; Luke Hoyer, 15; Cara Loughran, 14; Gina Montalto, 14; Joaquin Oliver, 17; Alaina Petty, 14; Meadow Pollack, 18; Helena Ramsay, 17; Alexander Schachter, 14; Carmen Schentrup, 16; Peter Wang, 15.

Now, read about their lives that were needlessly cut short.

Now, accept we need to take action by trying something new. Responsible gun control is now the imperative to try.

#GunControlNow

Trump's Pride Parade

Just before the opening of the Olympic Winter Games in South Korea, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un held a giant military parade in Pyongyang. Kim's parade sure seemed similar to the one President Donald Trump described he wants to hold in Washington. Trump seems to be the only one blind to the symbolism that a Kim style military parades conjures up. A-list dictators like Hitler and Stalin set the bar for brute force pageantry that D-list dictators like Kim and dictator wannabe Trump strive to emulate.

The United States certainly has had military parades in the past. Most have been called victory parades tied to the end of conflicts. Occasionally, the military has made appearances in inaugural parades but none have been put on for the mere purpose of a display of brute force which seems to be the impetus of parade Trump.

Trump's idea for such a display is consistent with his persona of touting the gaudy opulence he's built into his private life in places like Trump Tower, Mar a Lago, and his private jet. It seems only natural that he wants to show off his big nuclear button so he can prove to the world it exists. Trump's behavior could be classified as the man baby version of object permanence.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower rejected the idea of a brute force display to counter the Soviet Union. Eisenhower said, "absolutely not, we are the pre-eminent power on Earth. For us to try to imitate what the Soviets are doing in Red Square would make us look weak." Eisenhower was a five star general that led one of the largest fighting forces in the world. His experience influenced the perspective from which he navigated his Commander In Chief role in the White House.

Trump never served a day in the military but now finds himself in charge of a staggering military arsenal. Rather than be self aware of the contrast and behave appropriately, Trump's narcissism drives a need to display himself as the embodiment of U.S. military power. There is no better way to put himself on display than by having the United States military parade before him in full regalia with tanks and missiles to boot. The picture is nothing short of Trump's Pride Parade.

Support for the idea of the parade has been anywhere from mixed to tepid. The justification used by most agreeing with the President is that it offers a way to show support for veterans and to boost recruitment. With an undetermined price tag (the Gulf War victory parade cost $21 million in today's dollars), there are likely better ways to help those who serve. Wider and faster access to mental and physical health care come to mind as does higher pay for active duty service personnel.

The reality is: the parade isn't for veterans. It's all about Trump and has nothing to do with making America great.

Spartan Future

With Larry Nassar now sentenced to 175 years in prison for assaulting countless female athletes during his tenure with USA gymnastics and Michigan State University, the focus now turns to the role those institutions played in fostering a culture where such abuse could take place.

MSU has been in the spotlight this week as its board of trustees deals demonstrated aplomb comparable to that of Marie-Antoinette in dealing with the scrutiny the case has put on the university. The board stumbled in dealing with the fate of President Lou Anna Simon and appears overwhelmed by the depth of their accountability in dealing with the Nassar scandal. 

Michigan Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley, an MSU alumnus, has stated publicly the university should set aside hundreds of millions of dollars to compensate victims and stop fighting lawsuits brought by those Nassar harmed. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schutte has launched an investigation to look into MSU's actions and culpability in the Nassar case. Such a strategy represents clear steps forward in both human decency and institutional accountability. It's also clear politics will play a role in the investigation and the future of MSU.

Both Calley and Schutte are likely to make a run for Michigan's GOP gubernatorial nomination. That in of itself may force them to break with the appalling track record of their party in selectively ignoring sexual predators but any outcome the university faces must deal with the failed individuals and culture responsible without crippling the state's largest public university for years to come. That will not be an easy task.

At a time when Detroit lost out on a bid to bring Amazon's second headquarters to southeast Michigan citing insufficient young talent, state politicians need to be careful not to allow the damage to one of the most important institutions for creating such talent to put Michigan at further disadvantage. The state and all its citizens will need to step up to make sure Nassar victims receive their due compensation and restructure oversight without making MSU unviable as a top educational institution.

State Republicans and Democrats will need to stand together against changes to Title IX that may weaken institutional responses to sexual assault. Ironically, it's a Michigan native, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, leading the charge to raise the standard of evidence in sexual assault cases to a higher bar than those that already allowed Nassar to thrive. DeVos is a national embarrassment demonstrating staggering incompetence given implications of the Nassar case. Michigan deserves, and can do, better.

Michigan State is one of three state public universities where trustees are elected on a statewide basis. MSU's ineffectual board comprised of ex-coaches, ex-jocks, and ex-politicians is a textbook example of parties how put forward name recognition candidates in a popularity contest rather than candidates serious about higher education. The opposite route of all gubernatorial appointees is equally distasteful. Michiganders need look no further than the other green and white state university, Eastern Michigan, who's appointed board of trustees has a distinguished history of dysfunction.

A mix of appointees, congressional district candidates, and at large state candidates is likely the way to build a functional board. However, a change like that will take an amendment to the Michigan constitution. 

MSU must recover. Viable, healthy, diverse and safe institutions of higher learning are key to Michigan's future. Michiganders everywhere must be part of the change to get there and must make it a priority. We are all accountable in preventing a future catastrophe like Larry Nassar and in preventing a spartan future for the Spartans of Michigan State. 

The Face of Immigration

Jorge Garcia was deported to Mexico last Monday after 30 years of living in metro Detroit. Garcia was brought to the United States undocumented at age 10. He works as a landscaper, has never been convicted of a crime, has a wife and two teenage daughters all of whom are American citizens. Too old for DACA protection, Garcia's wife says that the family has spent $125,000 in legal costs since 2005 trying to find a path for Garcia to legally remain in the country.

Living in plain sight as a working member of the community made easy pickings for the lazy thugs passing themselves off as agents in the Detroit Immigration and Customs Enforcement office. If President Donald Trump's statements about the sheer number of dangerous illegals in the country were true, ICE should have it's hands full corralling and deporting them at a pace that should make Garcia a pretty low priority.

ICE isn't overwhelmed on that front because Trump's statements are not true. The national debate around immigration, DACA, and enforcement is no longer a debate. The GOP side of the argument is based on lies. It's not possible to debate an untruth it's only possible to defend against it.

It's easy to armchair the Garcia case by saying the law is the law and Garcia was here illegally. While justice may be blind, it doesn't also have to be deaf and dumb. The law is imperfect. At best, it needs revision to accommodate the gray areas that have built up due to the imperfections; at worst it, violates the spirit of the constitution, the words at the bottom of the Statue of Liberty, and common decency.

Garcia's deportation may have been legal but it was far from just. The human face and family toll must not be overlooked as armchair pundits and hardliners bloviate from afar. How many immigration reform advocates could examine the situation, look Garcia's daughters in they eye, and tell them face to face their father is a criminal unworthy of this country? The only person unworthy of this country in such a scenario would be a person capable of saying that to those girls.

ICE agents did just that. Of course, they were just following orders. It's the classic Nuremberg defense, it's sickening, and begs the question of exactly what level of atrocity are these people capable.

The government is now closed as the battle over immigration reform and DACA escalates. It's a battle between those who value the importance of immigration and compassion versus a President and a Republican party that by all measure are xenophobic.

Jorge Garcia is just one of the faces of immigration. Another can be found in a mirror. Is the one seen there one capable of telling Garcia's daughters their father is not worthy? Is it capable of telling Dreamers to leave the only country they've ever known? If not, demand Republicans come back to the table with facts, not Trump lies, and find a truly American solution.