My State of the Union Address

Last week, we heard President Donald Trump’s “State of the Union” address to Congress. I'd like to share my own view of the state of our union:

Cost of Living

Prices and inflation are still high.

I’m reminded every morning when I make coffee. Thanks to the president’s delusional tariffs, I’m paying $22 to $24 a bag for coffee beans from a small roaster here in Opelika. I used to pay $16 to $18. My friends who own this small business tell me their prices for green beans jumped with the tariffs and have not come down.

Health insurance premiums also jumped at the start of the year. Last year, my son’s ACA coverage was fully subsidized. This year, his same Bronze plan costs $484 per month. The premium for my wife’s Bronze plan jumped 27% to $1,144 per month.

Affordability is not fake news, Mr. President.

Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling against the president's unilateral tariffs, he is doubling down and pursuing ways to maintain them. Tariffs are a hammer he can use to threaten and bully countries and companies to accede to his wishes.

As waves of economic uncertainty ripple across the globe, Republicans in Congress remain stone faced rather than exercising their Constitutional responsibility.

Immigration

The president claimed his administration would target only criminals illegally in the country. Yet he sent invasions of masked ICE and CBP agents into Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago, and Minneapolis creating terror: Separating families. Detaining immigrants who are legally in the country. Deporting people without due process. Killing innocent Americans and labeling them domestic terrorists. Ignoring court orders.

Reuters reported that the administration unlawfully detained immigrants more than 4,400 times between October and mid-February.

In the case Anderson Jesus Urquilla-Ramos v. Donald J. Trump, et al., Judge Joseph R. Goodwin wrote

“Across the interior of the United States, agents of the federal government — masked, anonymous, armed with military weapons, operating from unmarked vehicles, acting without warrants of any kind — are seizing persons for civil immigration violations and imprisoning them without any semblance of due process.”

Another example of DHS’ cruel and inhumane treatment was Nurul Amin Shah Alam, nearly blind, who froze to death in Buffalo after Border Patrol agents left him at a closed Tim Hortons, jail booties the only protection on his feet. True to form, DHS lied about the incident, claiming agents left him at “a warm, safe location.”

Despite these flagrant, cruel, and illegal violations of law — a white nationalist strategy to purge the country of people of color — Republicans in Congress show no interest in reforming immigration laws. The country needs immigrants for our high technology industries as well as farms, food processing, and hospitality.

Corruption

The President has been using his power to enrich himself, his family, and members of his cabinet. David Kirkpatrick estimates the president and his family have made some $3.4 billion from crypto, real estate, branding, and other ventures. The jet from Qatar is arguably the most visibly egregious.

The corruption trickles down, such as the Boeing 737 Max 8 executive jet that Secretary Noem has been leasing, claimed to be for immigrant deportation flights. Yet the interior includes a bedroom suite.

Nary a murmur from Republicans in Congress.

Epstein Files

Is the Justice department incompetent or protecting the president? Certainly incompetent and, I believe, covering for the president.

With all the examples of philandering throughout Donald Trump’s storied life, I think the charge that he raped a minor is plausible. That he is morally bereft is more than plausible.

Iran

Now the President has unilaterally started a war with Iran, ignoring the Constitution, Congress, and international law. There is no legal or moral justification for preemptively attacking another country and targeting its leaders, no matter how heinous those leaders are. Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the U.S. Blatant and self-serving lies that Iran was close to having a nuclear bomb or had developed ballistic missiles capable of striking the U.S.

We’ve now lost American lives, and the president predicts “there will likely be more.” For what end?

The state of the U.S.?

This administration and the Congressional Republicans supporting it do not reflect American values, the values outlined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. We have an imperialist president who is attempting to rule the world, a narcissist dismembering our country and enabled by Republican robots in Congress. That’s the state of the union I see.

One-Way Free Speech

I'm confused. Conservatives have railed about the “cancel culture” imposed by progressives and perceived infringements on free speech. Yet it's appropriate to fire someone for remarks about Charlie Kirk's assassination? Is that not free speech?

The people who have lost their jobs for posts about Charlie Kirk | Axios

Restricting the Freedom to Think

We used to cherish freedom in this country, considering it a foundation for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. No longer. Trump's America is looking more like Russia and China.

After decrying what they considered censorship of conservative ideas, conservatives are attempting to censor the ideas they find dissonant with their world views. They call these ideas divisive concepts, like racism and the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The library at the Naval Academy has now been purified.

Post by @garylerude@mindly.social

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Masks and Personal Freedom

This week Governor Greg Abbott of Texas announced the state's mask mandate will end March 10, saying citizens "no longer need government running our lives." Yet, in a subsequent interview with KTRK TV in Houston, he said, "We are still urging people to continue to wear the mask."

I've been surprised that masks became and remain such a lightning rod in the country's response to COVID-19. More precisely, the issue is whether the government has the authority to require wearing masks in a public space.

The argument for wearing masks is they reduce the risk of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has led to the deaths of some 525,000 Americans (and counting). As part of its responsibility for public safety and health, governments have the authority to require wearing masks, at least in public spaces, to reduce the risk of infection, hospitalization, and death.

Those opposed to mandates argue governments are infringing on an individual's freedom and liberty, adding people will act responsibly if presented with the evidence, presumably then choosing to wear a mask.

I side with a government mandate for these reasons:

1) The government has a responsibility for public safety and health, with the authority to impose regulations to ensure appropriate standards.

The history of the country has been a progression of government regulation to improve safety and health, either as society gains more knowledge or to address violations. Perhaps stop signs and red lights were controversial when first proposed, yet today we accept them, trading the expectation to safely drive to the grocery store for the loss of time and personal freedom.

2) Behavioral and cultural change takes time, while a pandemic grows exponentially.

When COVID-19 first exploded in New York City, then spread across the country, we didn't have much time to socialize wearing masks and overcome the inconvenience, discomfort, and self-consciousness doing so. If I'm the only one in a store wearing a mask, I'll take it off so I won't stand out and be embarrassed — particularly since wearing masks quickly became polarized, an unfortunate symbol of a different argument.

Intuitively, wearing a mask reduces the transmission of particles to and from the lungs, and much experimental data confirms their effectiveness. Their use is accepted in other countries: I've seen many people wearing masks in China, whether to prevent disease or reduce breathing pollutants from the air.

I doubt my reasoning will convince those who see this as a violation of personal freedom. I suspect the issue is not COVID-19, it's the relationship between the individual and society. COVID-19 is simply a battle in a much more expansive philosophical war.

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Also posted at my Hey World blog.