The United States of America is a nation built by and on the backs of immigrants. In spite of this, the United States has always grappled with how to address immigration issues. In 2021, immigration is once again near the top of the agenda for the country. That doesn’t mean, however, there will be any meaningful federal legislation passed to deal with it. This is the case because addressing immigration is a complex matter, requiring unbiased analysis and bipartisan … [Read more...]
The Wealth Gap Has Gone Sky High in the U.S.
Fly me to the moon Let me play among the stars Let me know what spring is like On a Jupiter and Mars Those are the lyrics to a song written by Bart Howard, recorded by Kaye Ballard in 1954 and made popular ten years later by Frank Sinatra. We don’t think that multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos will be singing these words on July 20 this year as he blasts off into space on his rocket New Shepard, built by his space exploration company Blue Horizon. We do know … [Read more...]
Independence Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Interdependence Day
On July 4 of this year, the United States of America will celebrate the 244th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. On June 19 of this year, for the first time, the United States of America celebrated the emancipation of slaves as a national holiday. On a date to be determined and in a year some time soon, the United States of America needs to have a national holiday named Interdependence Day, dedicated to celebrating the “US” in USA. We have been … [Read more...]
Patriotic Education vs. Civic Education: American Democracy at the Crossroads
This fragile crucible called our American democracy was created after the Revolutionary War. Since that time, Americans have been involved in an evolutionary war in a continuing struggle to craft the more perfect union envisioned by our founders. In this 21st century, some Americans have initiated a “devolutionary” war intended to move the democracy backward rather than forward. This devolution started with the members of the Tea Party in 2009 taking over town hall meetings … [Read more...]
Gun Safety: Those Who Will Not Learn from the Past
Columbine High School, Littleton, CO: 13 killed in a mass shooting, 1999. Sandy Hook Elementary School, Sandy Hook, CT: 27 killed in 2012. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland, FL: 17 killed in 2018. Each of these mass shootings should have led to meaningful gun safety legislation. But they did not. In a blog that we posted after the March 24, 2018 student-led March for Our Lives demonstration in Washington D.C. and nearly 900 sibling events in other … [Read more...]
SUPPORT SOCIAL VENTURES TO BUILD BACK BETTER
“While the American Rescue Plan is changing the course of the pandemic and delivering relief for working families, this is no time to build back to the way things were. This is the moment to reimagine and rebuild a new economy.” … [Read more...]
RIP GOP. HELLO POT
They look at Donald J. Trump and they look at the millions and millions of people inspired, who went to battle fighting alongside President Trump, and they’re terrified and they want him to go away. Let me tell you this right now: Donald J. Trump ain’t going anywhere. - Ted Cruz, U.S. Senator(R-TX) Ted Cruz made this proclamation on February 26 on the opening day of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held in Orlando, FL. On February 28, the closing day of … [Read more...]
America Lost. America Found.
They’ve all come to look for America. -Simon & Garfunkel O, let America be America again The land that never has been yet — – Langston Hughes America is a land of being and becoming. A democratic republic that has been in existence for 244 years. And a nation still in search of itself. The nature and results of this year’s presidential election prove this search will take years, and possibly decades, to reach the “more perfect union” envisioned by the founding fathers. Joe … [Read more...]
Donald Trump Is Rigging The System
Donald Trump has gotten a lot of media coverage with his preposterous claims that the American presidential election system is rigged. What Trump really means is that unless he can manipulate that system to win or to his own advantage, then it must be rigged. Don’t take our word for it. Take Donald’s. During the Republican primaries, Trump referred to the primary process as a “rigged, disgusting dirty system.” In his first appearance at a rally in West Virginia after he won … [Read more...]
WAR-TIME PRESIDENT
In a Fox News virtual Town Hall held on March 24, President Donald Trump declared that he “would love to have the country opened up” by Easter Sunday, April 12. In that same Town Hall, he asserted that measures like social distancing and self-quarantining were “very painful for our country and very destabilizing for our country. We have to go back to work much sooner than people thought.” After Trump made those comments, on March 26, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the … [Read more...]