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Have We Arrived at The “AHA’ moment?


The past number of months in the Presidential campaign has clearly shown that our Democracy is in trouble. We have legislators bent on revenge rather than fulfilling their duty. Some who have no understanding of what it takes to maintain a democracy. The Far-right side of the GOP is busily following the “former guy.” whose sole objective is to sow dissent and disorder. His Presidency is a wide open testament to his petulance and ineptitude. His followers are no more than pawns and have no clear concept of what Governing is. As we approach the national elections, the ongoing trials of DJT keeps surfacing while the topic needs to be a non-issue! The formation of parties and the sub sects of them has created more confusion over the real collective issues we face daily, while fomenting divisions that should not exist or perhaps should not take high priority in Governing. Nationality, Race, ethnicity are not indicative of a person’s qualities but appear to color our everyday. The election of DJT aka, TOTUS, LOTUS, Orange Guy” or whatever you want to name him is a recipe for disaster. This is not about politics as much as it is about who is capable of running the country. The last thing we need is folks like MTG, AOC raging over nothing rather than being serious about governing. We need people who will address the High court’s integrity by perhaps term limits, a code of ethics (that should also apply to Congress as well). This should be the goal, achieving or approaching those goals will allow for the correction needed to truly make America the country everyone thinks we are!

  The truth about the economy


  The one remaining problem can’t be dealt with through higher interest rates. It needs vigorous antitrust enforcement.

ROBERT REICH FEB 2                     Friends, It’s the economy, stupid. Thus spoke my friend James Carville, one of Bill Clinton’s campaign managers, in 1992. He was correct then and he’s been right ever since. Today, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. economy added 353,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate remains at 3.7 percent. The BLS also revised upward the two prior months, bringing the average monthly job gain in 2023 to 255,000. Even manufacturing, which has been in the doldrums, added 23,000 positions. Average hourly earnings grew 0.6 percent from December. Few economists expected job gains to remain this strong when high interest rates were needed to bring down inflation. But inflation is way down. Larry Summers (with whom I worked in the Clinton administration) predicted that the Fed would have to cause excessive joblessness to tame inflation (Summers also called the 2021 American Rescue Plan the “least responsible” fiscal policy in 40 years). He was wrong. Jobs growth continues to roar. Economic growth is good. Wages are moving in the right direction. Yet despite all the good news, 71 percent of Republicans say the economy is getting worse, and Donald Trump is once again claiming that the unemployment numbers are fake. Trump and Republicans are focusing on the only real remaining economic problem: Although inflation is down, prices haven’t come down. Why not? Because of corporate pricing power. Consider Pepsi. In 2021, PepsiCo, which makes all sorts of drinks and snacks, announced it was forced to raise prices due to “higher costs.” Forced? Really? The company reported $11 billion in profit that year.  In 2023 PepsiCo’s chief financial officer said that even though inflation was dropping, its prices would not. Pepsi hiked its prices by double digits and announced plans to keep them high in 2024. If Pepsi had lots of competitors, consumers would just buy something cheaper. But PepsiCo’s only major soda competitor is Coca-Cola, which – surprise, surprise – announced similar price hikes at about the same time as Pepsi, and also kept its prices high in 2023. With just one or a few competitors, it’s easy for giant corporations to coordinate price increases and prevent price cuts, to keep their profits up while shafting consumers. The CEO of Coca-Cola claimed that the company had “earned the right” to push price hikes because its sodas are popular. Popular? The only thing that’s popular these days seems to be corporate price gouging.  Pepsi and Coca-Cola dominate the soft drink market. They own most of the brands that appear to be competitors. This corporate pricing power isn’t just happening with Coke and Pepsi. Take meat products. At the end of 2023, Americans were paying at least 30% more for beef, pork, and poultry products than they were in 2020.  Why? Just four companies now control processing of 80 percent of beef, nearly 70 percent of pork, and almost 60 percent of poultry. So of course, it’s easy for them to coordinate price increases and prevent price cuts. In 75 percent of U.S. industries, fewer companies now control more of their markets than they did twenty years ago. Which is why the Biden administration is taking on this monopolization with the most aggressive use of antitrust laws in half a century. It’s taken action against alleged price fixing in the meat industry. It’s also suing Amazon for using its dominance to artificially jack up prices — one of the biggest anti-monopoly lawsuits in a generation. It successfully sued to block the merger of JetBlue and Spirit Airlines, which would have made consolidation in the airline industry even worse. But given how concentrated American industry has become, there’s still a long way to go. Inflation is down. But many people don’t feel it because prices are still high, and in some cases are still rising because of continued price gouging. That’s given Trump and his Republican lapdogs an excuse to tell Americans that the economy remains bad. The truth is, the economy is remarkably good, but too many big corporations have too much power over prices. The answer is to break them up — but I don’t expect Trump and the Republicans to say this. Do you?

Knee Jerk (and results of)


Observing and listening to the political news from multiple sources, one could be persuaded to avoid voting. Politics is a dirty business and possibly the most disingenuous. Remembering the spelling of poLItics, the 2 middle letters are ” LI”. While this is not the exact spelling of the word the meaning is clear. We have been historically warned about the “negative or misguided” ideas of politicians and some major news figures. Churchill warned about striking a deal with Hitler prior to WWII, Gen. Patton warned about appeasing or allying with Russia after WWII and Gen. Macarthur warned about China after WWII. This is all historic information, yet many have embraced the extreme left and right of center politics that led up to the Several wars experienced since the turn of the century (1900 till now).

The availability of information through mass media gives several views of information that can confuse and befuddle but if we use our common sense and avoid personal (and sometimes erroneous) conceptions of what we have learned, we can elect better people to represent us and hopefully make laws that advantage all of us. There will never be a “perfect” solution to the many issues that we face daily but with reasonable electees and our knowledge of the facts we can potentially rise above the mire we exist in re now.

Postal Deforms?


DeJoy’s USPS reform efforts

USPS is stripping rural America of reliable service without “legitimate justification,” senator says.

MAY 3, 2024 02:10 PM ET

ERIC KATZ

Senior Correspondent

The U.S. Postal Service would face new restrictions in implementing the reforms it says are necessary to save the mailing agency from financial ruin under a bill that adds to the mounting pressure on USPS management. 

The Protecting Access to Rural Carriers for Every Location (PARCEL) Act, introduced by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., would prohibit the consolidation of mail processing operations unless the Postal Service met certain conditions. Under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-year Delivering for America plan, USPS is in the midst of consolidating mail sorting away from individual post offices in favor of centralized centers and moving processing operations away from hundreds of cities and towns in favor of 60 mega-centers throughout the country. 

In some cases, such as Tester’s home state of Montana, those changes will move major elements of mail processing out of a state entirely. Several lawmakers have voiced concern with that approach, citing the potential for increased delays as traffic and weather disrupt mail transportation. 

Under the PARCEL Act, USPS would only be able to proceed with its plans to stand up the mega-centers—known as Regional Processing and Delivery Centers—if mail processing remains inside of state boundaries or causes no harm to local mail delivery. USPS would also have to complete a geographical review of its changes, including the impact of moving mail through mountain passes, and receive public input in support of the consolidations. 

Lawmakers from states such as Colorado and Nevada have criticized USPS plans to move mail processing across or out of their states, noting the mountain passes in the new routes would likely cause significant logistical difficulties. 

During a Senate hearing last month, DeJoy defended his plan and said he was committed to seeing it through. He told lawmakers that a return to the previous status quo would mean a continuation of the “financial death spiral” that predated his arrival. DeJoy stressed that he is not closing facilities, but repurposing and investing in them to meet modern needs. He added the Postal Service maintains “a process to analyze the movement of mail” and makes data-based decisions. 

Mail delays have spiked across the country and performance has been particularly poor in areas piloting the new network structure, leading DeJoy to apologize and promise improvements. He added, however, that his efforts will bear fruit if given appropriate time. 

“It’s easy to criticize when you show up at the crime scene and see the damage, but the path there is long and people are working very hard to change minds and hearts in terms of how we perform,” the postmaster general said.

A recent inspector general report found the standing up of a new RPDC in Richmond, Virginia, led to worse service, an uninformed public, decreased employee availability and a spike in late and canceled mail transportation trips.

The changes have caused “additional labor and transportation costs, and it is uncertain if expected savings will be achieved,” the IG said. Previous IG reports have found prior efforts to consolidate facilities led USPS to perform worse while realizing just a tiny fraction of the cost reductions it had anticipated.

The Postal Regulatory Commission said last week that while postal leaders have said the negative impacts are temporary, they have not shown any evidence to support that contention. The watchdog is now seeking increased scrutiny of the agency’s reforms. 

USPS in recent months has faced a long series of letters and calls to explain or adjust its reform plans, including a recent demand from several Senate Democrats that the postal board of governors abandon DeJoy’s changes altogether. Tester’s bill, which the senator introduced as USPS plans to move processing operations from Missoula in his state to Spokane, Washington, marks a new effort to statutorily limit the postmaster general. 

“USPS leadership has failed to listen to the people of Montana time and time again, and it’s time to put a stop to their attack on service in rural America,” Tester said. He added his bill would “bring full operations back to Missoula and ensure that Postmaster DeJoy won’t be able to strip rural America of reliable service without public approval and legitimate justification ever again.”

Steve Bannon’s Refusal to Pay His Bills Is Costing Him Big


Could this be a forecast for Donald Trump?

Jose Pagliery

Thu, March 7, 2024 at 3:31 AM CST·3 min read

161

Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty
  • For two years, Steve Bannon has refused to pay the half-million dollars he owes his former lawyer. Now, his refusal to settle his debts has exposed him and his current attorney to potential sanctions.

“Bannon, with the aid of his counsel, has, for months, done nothing but intentionally stall and delay plaintiff’s enforcement of its valid money judgment,” the law firm that previously represented him wrote to a New York state judge last month, employing an underline to show their heightened frustration.

Bannon, who was once Donald Trump’s White House chief strategist and played an active role in the former president’s Jan. 6 coup attempt, is already trapped in a precarious position. He’s a convict trying to avoid serving his four-month prison sentence for ignoring a congressional subpoena that sought to question him over his role in the MAGA insurrection. And the Manhattan District Attorney is putting him on trial in May for duping nativist donors to “We Build The Wall” who wanted to support a privately built U.S.-Mexico border barrier.

But now he’s making it even worse on himself.

It’s been seven months since a New York state judge ordered the conspiracy-spewing right-wing political agitator to pay the $484,197 he owed the defense lawyer he stiffed, Bob Costello.

Steve Bannon Admits Bank Account May Have Evidence of Fraud

But since then, according to court filings, Bannon has been dodging the ordered judgment and ignoring follow-up subpoenas. That has put the aggrieved New York City law firm of Davidoff Hutcher and Citron in the awkward position of asking the judge to intervene yet again, citing what they called “a last ditch effort concocted by Bannon to game this court.”

In its attempt to get a readout of Bannon’s personal finances and his ability to pay the bill, the law firm tried to question him under oath and sent subpoenas to learn more about his businesses and what’s in his personal bank accounts. Emails show that Bannon’s new lawyer, Harlan Protass, initially agreed in November to schedule a deposition and turn over materials—provided that they first sign a “simple and straightforward” confidentiality agreement.

But as the months went by, nothing happened.

Then, in January, Bannon suddenly put up resistance and claimed he couldn’t possibly answer questions or turn over bank records. Doing so would potentially reveal evidence of fraud that could ruin his attempt to overturn his federal conviction or even bolster the Manhattan DA’s case.

“DHC’s taking of post-judgment discovery from Mr. Bannon poses a significant risk of compromising Mr. Bannon’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination,” Protass wrote in court filings.

It was an unwelcome surprise. On Feb. 6, Costello’s law firm told the judge that Protass has been toying with them and engaging in “a feeble attempt at stalling.” Joseph N. Polito, a senior counsel at Costello’s firm, wrote that the excuse “is beyond any and all logic.”

Steve Bannon’s Lawyer Sues Him Over Unpaid Bills

Polito then took the relatively rare and aggressive approach of asking that New York Supreme Court Justice Arlene P. Bluth hit the right-wing influencer and his lawyer each with $10,000 sanctions—the highest allowable fine “for engaging in intentional dilatory litigation tactics.”

“Bannon’s intentional bad faith conduct has left plaintiff with no other choice but to seek civil contempt and sanctions. Without this relief, Bannon will be further emboldened to continue his dilatory tactics that have, and continue to, severely prejudice plaintiff in its efforts to satisfy the substantial money judgment that remains outstanding,” Polito wrote.

But Polito went even further, asking the judge to also tack on the cost he incurred “for having to address Bannon’s frivolity,” an eloquent insult used to describe the hours he’s wasted chasing down the conservative media figure.

Protass did not respond to a request for comment, but he is expected to file a formal reply in court records later this week. Polito did not reply to an email asking about the case.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Lest We Forget!!!


Factual History Always prevails

The past 8 to 10 years has revealed how badly our government has been run. This less to do with the President than the long serving Congress. Granted that all persons elected to the highest office are not suited to do or even make an attempt at doing the job but many over the years have listened to the counsel of staff members who have expertise in the assorted positions and or the most part enable the “chief Exec” to accomplish their agenda. This country has angry people for a myriad of reasons from the ridiculous to the sublime. Many of those reasons are based on incomplete, inaccurate and slanted information (also called alternate facts). The long serving Congress uses it voting power (when they have) it to further the agenda of the sitting President (when it’s to their advantage) or their deep pocket donors. We now have State executives using the same game plan to further agendas which do not benefit the majority of the American public. The first to feel the negative effects of these agendas are the poor, handicapped and neediest (not to mention a double effect on people of color no matter their origin). History has all of the information we need to remember what can happen in America if we are not well informed. Simply put: Russian pogroms, German (Nazi) death camps, African continental Fascist groups are all past and present indicators of what is happening now and can increase if we are not wary. Currently we have people serving(?) in Federal legislatures and state Legislatures who have no idea what lawmaking is about but managed to con enough voters to gain the office. They have played on the anger of voters (who are largely uninformed) by them and the media. The solution is fairly easy: Voters need to spread their attention around to multiple news sources and remember: Democracy Dies In Darkness—Done In By Ignorance And Apathy.

Can His Racism Be Any More Transparent?


Trump says Black voters relate to criminal prosecutions, prefer the ‘white guy’ to Obama

David Jackson

USA TODAY

COLUMBIA, S.C. − Former president Donald Trump, campaigning in South Carolina Friday, brought the issue of race into the campaign by comparing his legal battles to the injustices Black Americans face in the legal system and saying Black voters would prefer him over his predecessor, “Black president” Barack Obama.

Speaking to an audience of mostly Black Americans, Trump suggested − inaccurately − that he is popular with African American voters. He said his 91 criminal indictments and mug shot were part of the reason.

“A lot of people said that’s why the Black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against, and they actually viewed me as I’m being discriminated against,” he told an event sponsored by the Black Conservative Federation where about two-thirds of the crowd were Black Americans and one third were white people.

“It’s been pretty amazing but possibly, maybe, there’s something there,” he said of his theory that his criminal woes are something that makes him relatable to Black voters.

At another point, Trump squinted at the crowd and said: “The lights are so bright in my eyes I can’t see too many people out there. But I can only see the Black ones. I can’t see any white ones. That’s how far I’ve come.”

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

In disparaging President Barack Obama over the costs of a new Air Force One, Trump “Would you rather have the Black president or the white president who got $1.7 billion off the price?”

As the crowd cheered that remark, Trump said: “I think they want the white guy.”

A USA TODAY Suffolk poll published on Jan. 1 showed Trump with the support of only a small sliver of Black voters – 12%.

PollingA fraying coalition: Black, Hispanic, young voters abandon Biden as election year begins

His support among Black Americans has not increased and is identical to what he garnered in the 2020 election.

Trump’s primary opponent, Nikki Haley, blasted him over the comments.

“It’s disgusting,” Haley told reporters Saturday. “But that’s what happens when he goes off the teleprompter.”

Former Congressman Cedric Richmond, co-chair of the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign, blasted Trump’s comments.

“Though I may be disgusted, I am not at all surprised that Donald Trump would equate the suffering and injustice of Black people in America to consequences he now faces because of his own actions,” Richmond said, in a statement. “Donald Trump claiming that Black Americans will support him because of his criminal charges is insulting. It’s moronic. And it’s just plain racist.”

Trump’s remarks were defended by Diante Johnson, president of the Black Conservative Federation.” Our community supports the policies of President Donald J. Trump and knows full well that life was better four years ago under his administration,” Johnson said. He said that Black voters will cast their ballots in November “for safer streets, a better financial well-being, a secure border, and a complete rejection of Joe Biden’s disastrous tenure.”

One Man


DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADYJAN 23

Here it is January 2024, and we find ourselves reminded anew that we are in a difficult, dangerous, and deepening political reality. As the first primary ballots are being cast in New Hampshire, the country is forced again to face the fact that one man has fundamentally changed us. Simply stated, it’s as sobering and unsettling as that. 

He has changed what was until recently considered unacceptable behavior for our leaders. He has normalized bigotry, misogyny, racism, ageism, ableism, sexism.

He has changed our relationships with facts. Now there are phony “alternative facts.” And, lest we forget, wave after wave of outright lies. Scientific truths are scoffed at if they don’t fit his extremist narrative. Rational discourse is a thing of the past, because how can you argue with someone who, in effect, refuses to accept that two plus two makes four.

He has changed the lives of every woman in America whose bodily autonomy has been severely curtailed by a Supreme Court he stacked with anti-choice jurists.

He has changed how we show our discontent, unleashing long-held furies and granting permission to behave badly. Because he does. Can you imagine any other president heavily encouraging, if not outright creating, the January 6 insurrection — and then praising those who stormed the Capitol? 

He has changed how we socialize in public places. If politics comes up in conversation, we’re more often inclined to speak softly, if at all, and glance around to make sure we aren’t overheard. Not because we are ashamed of our views, but because we are concerned for our safety.

He has changed the lives of millions who lost loved ones to COVID-19 (400,000 American deaths by the time he left office) because he a) didn’t act to stem the rise of the virus and b) actively made things worse.

He has changed how we interact with family members. We now have to remember which uncle or cousin is a MAGA supporter and make sure to stay away from any topics other than weather and sports at Thanksgiving dinner or a 4th of July barbecue.

He has changed our ability to fight climate change by rolling back policies and bowing out of international agreements at a moment when we don’t have time to backtrack. 

He has changed how safe we feel driving in our cars. We hold the steering wheel just a little tighter when a giant pickup truck pulls up alongside us adorned with inflammatory bumper stickers. 

He has changed how we start relationships. We now have to find out where a new acquaintance falls on the political spectrum to make sure we align enough to even bother moving forward with a friendship.

He has changed how we educate our children, giving revisionists carte blanche to sanitize history and remove even dictionaries from school libraries.

He has changed where we feel comfortable living. He has divided us to such an extent that some feel compelled to move to other states because of the extreme politics he has fomented and the state laws passed in the wake of such severity. 

Why are we allowing this one man to remake us — as individuals and as a country? 

As we ponder that question, we remember that Republicans in New Hampshire are widely expected to vote today for this man to return to the White House.

Even if he is upset by Nikki Haley in New Hampshire, he will remain a heavy favorite for the nomination because he and those who support him are enthusiastic, organized, and focused.

For those who oppose Donald Trump? It will take all of their collective efforts to make sure he doesn’t return to the Oval Office. 

I’m sure you have your own thoughts. Feel free to join in the respectful conversation below.

Soldier’s Wife demands husband’s Return at Putin HQ


Reuters Videos

Sat, January 20, 2024 at 12:50 PM CST

 

  •  

STORY: The wife of a Russian soldier delivered an emotional appeal for his return from Ukraine on Saturday at the election headquarters of President Vladimir Putin, a defiant gesture in a country where open criticism of the war is banned.

“So what’s next? The Ministry of Defence has spent its money, now we need to squeeze everything out of our guys, get the last life out of them? So that they come back to us just as stumps? Will they give me the stump? What will I get back? A man without legs, without arms, a sick man? Don’t you know what’s happening there?”

The heated exchange came after Maria Andreyeva was told by a woman at Putin’s election base that Russian soldiers in Ukraine were defending the motherland and that she should pray for them.

It showed the depth of anger and despair among some soldiers’ families as the war grinds on, with no end in sight after nearly two years.

“I think we need to come en masse, write similar appeals – instructions – in order to force them by weight of numbers. Previously we went to lawmakers, we wrote letters, I think now is exactly the moment when we need to act. If not know, when?”

Andreyeva belongs to an organization of soldiers’ wives called “The Way Home” that is campaigning for the return of their husbands from Ukraine.

Last month, Putin chose a gathering with soldiers to announce his plan to run for a new six-year term at an election in March, where supporters and opponents alike see his victory as a foregone conclusion.

He has said that Russia was in a strong position across the entire front line in Ukraine and would press ahead to meet the goals of what he calls a “special military operation.”

Greg Abbott Is pushing Texas to the brink


Texas governor pushes on immigration, caring little about the law or the people he hurts in the name of politics

By BRIAN KAREM\

Columnist

PUBLISHED JANUARY 22, 2024 5:45AM (EST

To rule is easy, to govern difficult.

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

At the end of the day, you have to wonder if Texans are comfortable being a part of the United States.

I’m not just talking about the Dallas Cowboys, who have choked so often in the NFL playoffs that they need the Heimlich maneuver when they step on the field, particularly at home against the Green Bay Packers. I mean, in general, you have to question it.

Governor “Hey, Abbott!” – with apologies to Lou Costello – Greg Abbott is certainly among those who think that Texas is still its own country. He has stood stupidly defiant against the federal government for the last few months on the issue of Southern border security and kept the Border Patrol from doing its job while claiming the state of Texas has the right to defend its “sovereignty.”  

Abbott’s “Operation Lone Star” has bused more than 35,000 immigrants to Washington, D.C, New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles since April of 2022. He claims that the operation “continues to fill the dangerous gaps created by the Biden administration’s refusal to secure the border.” More on that in a moment.

Now Abbott seems to be making the case for going it alone again in the Lone Star state.

Two of my sons were born in Texas, and I am often reminded that anyone can become an American, but you have to be born a Texan. I used to think that was cute and funny – like the businessman I knew in the early 90s whose wife went into premature labor while they were visiting New York. He had a San Antonio neighbor overnight him 10 pounds of dirt from his backyard that he then placed into a container, so when his son was born he could legitimately say his son’s ass first touched Texas soil. Turns out, what I find cute and funny is deadly serious in Texas. They take their state pride seriously – even if there are (or once were) a sizable number of people in Texas who don’t support much of the lunacy from the state’s Republican Party. When it comes to Texas, they still fully believe they live in their own country. 

As recently as December, Newsweek reported on a strong separatist movement in the Lone Star state. The Texas Nationalist Movement, an organization that supports Texas’ independence from the U.S., warned the GOP they have enough signatures to force a vote on the question of whether Texans support secession. Texas nationalists have for years pushed for a referendum on Texas secession, despite the fact there is no provision in the U.S. Constitution for a state to do so. Of course, that hasn’t kept the wildly independent Texans from doing whatever they want. The state first seceded from Mexico in 1836 and spent nine years as its own nation (remember the Alamo!) before it became the 28th U.S. state on Dec. 29, 1845. Texas also seceded from the U.S. in 1861 before being readmitted following the end of the Civil War.

Now Abbott seems to be making the case for going it alone again in the Lone Star state. There’s little practical chance of that, however. The federal government owns and operates 15 military bases in the state with an economic impact of more than $100 billion. San Antonio alone has four bases, with others being scattered from Corpus Christi to El Paso, and other points north and south throughout the state.

Still, it’s a touchy subject for Abbott. I tried all this week to get someone to speak to the issue in the governor’s office. My emails were ignored and when I finally reached someone by phone in Abbott’s press office, they hung up on me. Nothing like transparency in Texas. But, this isn’t unusual, I once got thrown out of the Texas Senate for asking a senator to move so my station’s news photographer could get a better shot. Texans can be arrogant and ignorant – and in government they are often that way all the time. 

The Biden administration is deeply frustrated with Abbott’s moves – and while he continues to play politics with a very serious issue, the federal government – including the U.S. Border Patrol which is far from a bastion of liberals – has tried to get Abbott and Texas to see reason. The general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security recently sent state officials a letter, portions of which read, “Texas’s actions are clearly unconstitutional and are actively disrupting the federal government’s operations. We demand that Texas cease and desist its efforts to block Border Patrol’s access in and around the Shelby Park area and remove all barriers to access in the Shelby Park area,” of Eagle Pass.

DHS gave Texas until January 17 to “cease and desist” its efforts to block the Border Patrol’s access to the park and to remove all barriers to access to the U.S. – Mexico border before referring the matter to the Department of Justice “for appropriate action and (to) consider all other options available to restore Border Patrol’s access to the Border.”

Sounds ominous, but what other options are there? Abbott certainly doesn’t think the Border Patrol will fire upon Texas law enforcement working the border, does he? No rational human being thinks so. That would be disastrous, and yet, we are still at a tipping point in Texas. God only knows what the lunatics may do – and there are plenty of gun-happy lunatics in Texas.

During the 80s I was assigned to cover a story when members of the KKK showed up on the border after President Reagan claimed godless Sandinistas were just a two-hour plane ride away from our southern border. There were many guns on the border on that day. And Texans, of course, love to take matters into their own hands. There’s a long history of that.

As the current drama in Texas was playing out, The Hill reported, “The House on Wednesday approved a resolution condemning the Biden administration’s border and immigration policies, a move by GOP lawmakers to maintain pressure on the politically polarizing issue in the weeks ahead. The legislation pins the blame on President Biden’s “open-border policies”, highlighting the stark partisanship behind immigration and border policy. It passed 225-187, with 14 Democrats voting in favor.”

The Biden administration has angrily accused the GOP of duplicity, noting that Biden has proposed reforms to immigration that include hiring more Border Patrol agents, but the GOP has refused to take up the issue. Of course, it’s hard to get the GOP to do anything in Congress – they can barely pass legislation for funding the government.

On Wednesday, Biden met with members of Congress to talk about additional funding for Ukraine – something GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson said is linked to immigration reform. After the meeting, Biden was asked – as he walked to Marine One on the South Lawn  – what the sticking points were on immigration reform. Biden said, “I don’t think we have any sticking points left.”

When Johnson and other members of Congress came out to the sticks on the North Lawn to talk to reporters, Johnson shut the door on “comprehensive immigration reform,” telling reporters, “I don’t think now is the time for comprehensive immigration reform, because we know how complicated that is.”

Of course, there won’t be reform – it would ruin the GOP’s chances to run on that issue if they solved the problem. This is a true do-nothing Congress. The GOP doesn’t want to solve problems – it wants to blame Democrats for problems in order to get elected. 

You’ve got a better chance of the Dallas Cowboys winning the Superbowl than finding any common sense in Congress as Republicans continue to speak out of both sides of their mouth. While Johnson said there obviously won’t be any long term reform he also said, “We must insist that the border be the top priority. I think we have some consensus around the table. Everyone understands the urgency of that.” Try to wrap your mind around that lack of logic.

Senator Chuck Schumer saw things differently. He told reporters, “We also talked about the border and how it’s so important to deal with the border. The President himself said over and over again that he is willing to move forward on the border. And so we said we have to do both. There were a couple of people in the room that said let’s do the border first. We said we have to do both together.”

The response in Texas?

Texas authorities arrested migrants at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, late Wednesday evening and charged them with criminal trespassing, marking the first arrests of migrants since the state took control of the area at the US-Mexico border last week, an official said. In response to the federal government’s cease-and-desist letter, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton admitted that Border Patrol has “warrantless access to land within 25 miles of the border, but only ‘for the purpose of patrolling the border to prevent the illegal entry of aliens into the United States.’”

Texas is inching closer to a confrontation and a clash that can never occur and both sides do not want to recognize the root cause of the problem: American politics.

Illegal immigration has been a problem for nearly half a century because of the Mexican oil economy crash in the 70s as well as the US demand for cheap labor and cheap drugs. In the 1980s the US, during the Reagan administration, made some steps toward solving the problem, but there has been nothing done since then by both political parties. The truth is Big Business wants and demands cheap labor – as do most Americans. No one wants to pay $10 for a tomato, and the demand for cocaine, heroin and even fentanyl remains huge, so Big Business holds up a welcome sign while politicians act disingenuously about solving a problem they all had a part in creating. 

Thus, Abbott is willing and able to use the poor and downtrodden to skewer Democrats by saying immigrants are lazy and living off of the welfare state, while at the same time claiming they take all of the jobs. The Christian Republicans scream the loudest about this – ignoring the teachings of the Jesus they claim to worship and ignoring the fact that the nation was built by immigrants – or as Bill Murray reminded us in Stripes, “We’re Americans, with a capital ‘A’, huh? You know what that means? Do ya? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world. We are the wretched refuse. We’re the underdog. We’re mutts!” And those that weren’t immigrants were brought here as slaves, but that’s another issue.

American hypocrisy has never been so evident as in how we deal with new arrivals to our shores.

Protect our borders from caravans of foreign illegal immigrants? When Native American tribes tried to stem the tide of illegal immigration it didn’t go so well – and it won’t go well for us now either.

Friday, top U.S. and Mexican officials met in Washington to discuss strengthening cooperation and continuity in addressing the migration issues at the U.S.-Mexico border. This occurred as several Border Patrol sectors on the Southern Border, including Tucson and parts of Texas are reporting a decline in illegal immigration during the last few weeks. The decline is widely attributed to Mexican government efforts, and while the Biden administration wasn’t promising anything concrete from the Friday meetings, they were “cautiously optimistic,” that things will continue to get better on the border.

“That’s the irony of the Texas situation,” a Biden official told me on background. “They’re doing this when the numbers are relatively low.”

This matters little in the world of politics today. 

Maybe at the end of the day, the federal government ought to send in Matt LeFleur and the Green Bay Packers. Governor Abbott wouldn’t stand a chance. Like the Dallas Cowboys, he’s all hat and no cattle!