"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Today's Must-Read: Immigration (Update)

From Digby, a real eye-opener on how Americans really feel about DACA, Dreamers and immigration in general:

With numbers like these, why in the ever-loving hell are these right wing nativist bigots getting heir way on immigration? Why?

As the Senate kicks off immigration week, February 6, 2018 polling from Quinnipiac offers a reminder that the American public overwhelming supports Dreamers and strongly opposes key elements of the White House immigration framework.

Among the key findings in the new Quinnipiac Poll:

By an 81-14% margin, Americans want Dreamers to gain citizenship: Support is overwhelmingly pro-Dreamer when respondents were asked if they support, “allowing undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children to remain in the United States and eventually apply for citizenship.”

Support for Dreamers is overwhelming across party lines – 94% of Democrats, 82% of Independents, and 68% of Republicans support citizenship: GOP voters support citizenship by a 68-24% margin, white men by a 75-20% margin, and voters over 65 by a 80-14% margin.

That's only the tip of the iceberg.

OK -- we all know why Trump is touting eliminating immigration (come on -- you know that's what he wants -- except from Norway): because he's a pig who's made his political career by appealing to all that's worst in people. And the worst in people comes out and votes for him.

What the poll shows is that most Americans are much better than Trump and his core supporters.

I'd say this could be a major issue going into the midterms -- because the Republicans, being the party of goosestepping in unison, are going along with it. I don't trust either McConnell or Ryan, in spite of assurances, but bring up immigration, especially protection for Dreamers, anytime soon. But there are so many issues going into the midterms -- the tax boondoggle, the exponentially growing deficit, the Wall, Russia, civil rights, you name it -- that singling out one is almost impossible. It does help that the GOP is wrong on every count, but they've got the big money behind them, which translates into saturating the airwaves with ads. And don't forget Fox, your No. 2 source for fake news -- after the White House press office.

Read the whole thing. And think about Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III and his support for "law enforcement" (which in his terms means putting as many brown people as possible into privately run, for-profit prisons). And Betsy DeVos and her concern for the rights of white, straight, cis-gendered school children. And forget about clean air, drinkable water, and national parks, thanks to Scott Pruitt.

Update: Read this rather sobering take by Betty Cracker at Balloon Juice.



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