Notes from around the Human Experience…
AMERICA..LAND OF THE FREE, HOME OF TRUMP: One lesson we all should have learned by now is that nothing of substance is going to get done during the Trump Administration. The latest imbroglio, the debate over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, is the latest example.
There really isn’t a reason for wanting to change or eliminate this program except for the standard Trump reasons of being petty and vindictive, for not having an initiative of his own, for merely wanting to undo what someone else has done. Trump has established he has nothing original and workable to offer his country, that he seldom thinks beyond his next tweet or of anything other than how best to draw attention to himself.
Nothing is going to happen here, either, because outside of saying “do something” Trump is providing his usual zero guidance. He has parlayed a mandate from white America, a GOP controlled Congress and his own ineptitude into a complete inability to govern. We used to say America will spend the entire Trump years merely marking time but we’re not even going to do that. This country is so fractured, so devoid of leadership and so divisive right now that we are sinking farther and farther into an abyss we might not be able to crawl out of. Marking time until you and me – we the people – decide we deserve better would be progress.
Dry, Technical Matter: Not that passing the matter of on Congress is wrong. It’s not because this is something that is Congress’ province to deal with. As we should all remember from civics class, Congress passes laws and the president executes those laws and DACA is something Congress should have implemented in the first place, instead of President Obama instituting it via executive order in 2012.
Gaylon For Congress…Vote Early, Vote Often: DACA is merely a symptom of our bigger immigration problem, one that really has no solution. Ideally, conditions in other countries are good enough that others neither want nor need to move here to build a good life, but it is not reasonable to expect that to happen.
So instead of looking at this as a problem, let’s look at it as an opportunity. In our 2014 book The Liberty Handbook, we discuss a program that allows those who entered illegally to remain here. We called it the work card program and would allow those who want to do so to obtain legal residency here, even if their initial entry violated current federal law.
Fly In The Ointment: They would not be entitled to become citizens, however. That privilege is reserved for those who play by the rules. So they would be denied the right to vote and a passport and a few other things.
Back On Message: But America should have a place for those who want to a better life. It’s America’s stock in trade, what we do, what made us great because America was built on the back of immigrants. Anybody who doesn’t realize either forgot the lessons they learned in school or never learned them in the first place.
ON THIS DATE! ON THIS DATE! The Pilgrims, a group of 100 or seeking religious freedom, leave Plymouth, England on this date in 1620. They would arrive off the coast of Massachusetts on November 9 and after some fussing around about where to land, ultimately anchored off what is now Provincetown on the 12th.
From The Ballyard: The Chicago Cubs – then known as the White Stockings – set a major league record by scoring 18 runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, part of a 26-6 win over the Detroit Wolverines. The record still stands.
Some record setting individual performances accented the festivities. Ned Williamson, Tom Burns and Fred Pfeffer became the first players to have three hits in an inning and Williamson and Burns were the first to score three runs in an inning. Both records have been tied, but otherwise still stand.
Oh Yeah: Burns had two doubles and a home run, establishing records for most extra base hits and total bases in an inning that still stand.
FunFact: The Detroit Wolverines would leave the National League after the 1888 season.
The Post Game Show Is Brought To You By Old Style Beer: Elsewhere in the National League, Providence defeated Boston 6-1 and Buffalo defeated Cleveland 7-1. Chicago remains in first place a game up on Providence, Cleveland and Boston. Boston, however, would win 14 of their last 15 games to win the pennant by four games over Chicago.
Quotebook: It is natural for man to indulge in the illusion of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth… – Patrick Henry, “Give me liberty or give me death” speech to Virginia Legislature, 3/23/1775
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: The Albany Congress of 1754 and the Stamp Act Congress of 1765 were the first two legislative gatherings of the American colonies.
Today’s Stumper: What team replaced the Detroit Wolverines in the National League for the 1889 season? – Answer next time!
