Americans and other expatriates gather to protest against U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent travel ban to the U.S., outside of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. People gathered to protest against Trump’s executive order temporarily banning immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. and suspending the nation’s refugee program. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
It’s been about two weeks of President Donald Trump, and we’ve already experienced an international embarrassment with an immigration ban on passengers from seven Muslim-majority countries that had to be blocked by the Judicial branch.
In the course of one week, Trump has ordered to reinstate torture (which failed), restart the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, told us we’re going to have to pay for the Mexican border wall and raise taxes on Mexican goods, vowed to order a costly review for his delusions of massive voter fraud, placed a temporary gag order on government scientists and agencies, demoted the Joint Chiefs of Staff and put White House Strategist Steve Bannon as the head of the National Security Council.
Those are just the big ones out of his 20, as of this writing, executive orders thus far.
The immigration ban on seven Middle Eastern countries — but not the terrorist-sending countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt where Trump has business interests — sparked a global backlash, making us look impulsive and discriminatory. When the White House ordered the immigration ban, the president ignored the legal advice of the Department of Justice’s top lawyers who condemned the order for its unconstitutionality. The district courts soon took action and stayed the ban, and Trump backpedaled to allow Green Card holders — who are lawful U.S. citizens — in. Barack Obama set a precedent for this in 2011, but his policies were no where near as extreme.
Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates told Justice Department lawyers not to make legal arguments defending Trump’s executive order on immigration and refugees because it was unconstitutional. That’s exactly what that position is entrusted to do, as incoming Attorney General Jeff Sessions implored at her appointment hearing in 2015. Trump fired Yates for her “betrayal.”
We look unstable, and we look reckless.
The vulgar display of power by the Trump administration — particularly the role Bannon, a known radical-nationalist, is playing — should be alarming to all Americans, regardless of politics. This isn’t just tough-guy brass politics, these are the actions of an extremist administration. This is why there are extreme reactions by the public.
The White House’s plan to publish a weekly report of crimes committed by undocumented workers — and we’ll just take their word for it, huh — is horrendous. That’s a page from the Nazi Party propaganda playbook in how to scapegoat an entire class of people, and further marginalize a marginalized group from society.
Of course undocumented workers are a concern, but they’re an essential part of our economy and removing them would cause a tremendous labor shortage in the U.S. fruit and vegetable industry and hike up food prices, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
It’s exhausting keeping up. Every day is another roller coaster anticipating what the White House will do next, except Trump is doing everything he said he would in the campaign, only no one took him seriously. It’s as if the barrage of orders and controversial statements are intentionally meant to leave us in disarray and incoherent malaise. It’s as if they want to tire the protesters out, because the people can’t continue to have a protest for each and every little thing, can they?
As the free press diligently reports back what’s been said and done on Capitol Hill, the administration fires back at them with attempts to delegitimize them. That’s another crucial step in fascism by the way — weakening public trust in the press and controlling the dissemination of information.
Meanwhile, there has been a constant presence of protesters here in Fayetteville on College Avenue throughout the past week. The numbers of the crowds have varied in the hundreds depending on the time and day, and whether they’re protesting the president, standing up for women’s rights or condemning the Diamond Access Pipeline in Arkansas. Gov. Asa Hutchinson recently signed a ban on all abortions in the state, which the American Civil Liberties Union says is unconstitutional and is now taking to court. Even in this corner of the world, people are fired up.
I don’t care about Trump’s disturbing claim there were millions more attendees at his inauguration than in reality. That’s all silly nonsense at this point. But when Trump’s delusional actions start costing the American taxpayers and insult our country’s diverse values, I should think there would be public outrage.
In his acceptance speech, Trump claimed he would represent all of us and bring us together. All he’s done is deepen the divide, and surely, that’s been the plan all along. The polarization of our politics is what got him in the White House, and it’s what will keep him in power — unless any of the invertebrates in Congress grow a spine and stand up to him. This is exactly what Vladimir Putin wanted.
I am disgusted by our president and his administration’s actions. This is not a dig at those who voted for him, in fact I hope those who voted for him see the bipartisan concerns here. However, to demand I keep my criticisms of the president silent is the beginning of a slippery slope toward the end of our fair and free republic.
Our 26th president Theodore Roosevelt thought so, too:
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Now, more than ever we cannot give in to the comforts of fear of others or the blinding rage of anger. It’s that fear and anger that divide us.
Trump’s First Week Will Have Lasting Damage
Americans and other expatriates gather to protest against U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent travel ban to the U.S., outside of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. People gathered to protest against Trump’s executive order temporarily banning immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. and suspending the nation’s refugee program. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
It’s been about two weeks of President Donald Trump, and we’ve already experienced an international embarrassment with an immigration ban on passengers from seven Muslim-majority countries that had to be blocked by the Judicial branch.
In the course of one week, Trump has ordered to reinstate torture (which failed), restart the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, told us we’re going to have to pay for the Mexican border wall and raise taxes on Mexican goods, vowed to order a costly review for his delusions of massive voter fraud, placed a temporary gag order on government scientists and agencies, demoted the Joint Chiefs of Staff and put White House Strategist Steve Bannon as the head of the National Security Council.
Those are just the big ones out of his 20, as of this writing, executive orders thus far.
The immigration ban on seven Middle Eastern countries — but not the terrorist-sending countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt where Trump has business interests — sparked a global backlash, making us look impulsive and discriminatory. When the White House ordered the immigration ban, the president ignored the legal advice of the Department of Justice’s top lawyers who condemned the order for its unconstitutionality. The district courts soon took action and stayed the ban, and Trump backpedaled to allow Green Card holders — who are lawful U.S. citizens — in. Barack Obama set a precedent for this in 2011, but his policies were no where near as extreme.
Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates told Justice Department lawyers not to make legal arguments defending Trump’s executive order on immigration and refugees because it was unconstitutional. That’s exactly what that position is entrusted to do, as incoming Attorney General Jeff Sessions implored at her appointment hearing in 2015. Trump fired Yates for her “betrayal.”
We look unstable, and we look reckless.
The vulgar display of power by the Trump administration — particularly the role Bannon, a known radical-nationalist, is playing — should be alarming to all Americans, regardless of politics. This isn’t just tough-guy brass politics, these are the actions of an extremist administration. This is why there are extreme reactions by the public.
The White House’s plan to publish a weekly report of crimes committed by undocumented workers — and we’ll just take their word for it, huh — is horrendous. That’s a page from the Nazi Party propaganda playbook in how to scapegoat an entire class of people, and further marginalize a marginalized group from society.
Of course undocumented workers are a concern, but they’re an essential part of our economy and removing them would cause a tremendous labor shortage in the U.S. fruit and vegetable industry and hike up food prices, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
It’s exhausting keeping up. Every day is another roller coaster anticipating what the White House will do next, except Trump is doing everything he said he would in the campaign, only no one took him seriously. It’s as if the barrage of orders and controversial statements are intentionally meant to leave us in disarray and incoherent malaise. It’s as if they want to tire the protesters out, because the people can’t continue to have a protest for each and every little thing, can they?
As the free press diligently reports back what’s been said and done on Capitol Hill, the administration fires back at them with attempts to delegitimize them. That’s another crucial step in fascism by the way — weakening public trust in the press and controlling the dissemination of information.
Meanwhile, there has been a constant presence of protesters here in Fayetteville on College Avenue throughout the past week. The numbers of the crowds have varied in the hundreds depending on the time and day, and whether they’re protesting the president, standing up for women’s rights or condemning the Diamond Access Pipeline in Arkansas. Gov. Asa Hutchinson recently signed a ban on all abortions in the state, which the American Civil Liberties Union says is unconstitutional and is now taking to court. Even in this corner of the world, people are fired up.
I don’t care about Trump’s disturbing claim there were millions more attendees at his inauguration than in reality. That’s all silly nonsense at this point. But when Trump’s delusional actions start costing the American taxpayers and insult our country’s diverse values, I should think there would be public outrage.
In his acceptance speech, Trump claimed he would represent all of us and bring us together. All he’s done is deepen the divide, and surely, that’s been the plan all along. The polarization of our politics is what got him in the White House, and it’s what will keep him in power — unless any of the invertebrates in Congress grow a spine and stand up to him. This is exactly what Vladimir Putin wanted.
I am disgusted by our president and his administration’s actions. This is not a dig at those who voted for him, in fact I hope those who voted for him see the bipartisan concerns here. However, to demand I keep my criticisms of the president silent is the beginning of a slippery slope toward the end of our fair and free republic.
Our 26th president Theodore Roosevelt thought so, too:
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Now, more than ever we cannot give in to the comforts of fear of others or the blinding rage of anger. It’s that fear and anger that divide us.
Thanks for reading.