Update no.886

Update from the Sunland

No.886

24.12.18 – 30.12.18

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

            To all,

            Happy New Year to all, including the OSGOO and his sycophant cronies!  I trust everyone enjoyed the holiday season.  So closes a very tumultuous year.  There is always hope.  This is the last Update for 2018.

            The follow-up news items:
-- Our beloved national toddler-in-chief continues to act out his part, throwing himself, pounding his fists in frustration and screaming “I want my wall!  I want my wall!” [705] And, he persists in his attempts to blame the Democrats and specifically presumed speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi for what he alone has done.  Over the course of many months, Congress has presented him with several bipartisan compromise bills to make progress on immigration reform and keep the government running, and after initially agreeing to the compromise, he unilaterally decided to reject the bills.  So, here we are, the various departments and agencies not previously covered by fiscal year appropriations have shutdown [884,885].  So far, the only citizens paying the price for the BIC’s intransigence are the employees in the affected federal departments and agencies.  So now, the BIC has created a game of chicken.  Who will blink first?
-- Several Press outlets indicated that Chinese and U.S. negotiators [883] are making progress on an agreement to defuse at least some of the trade tensions [748] between the two countries by boosting U.S. exports and loosening regulations that hobble U.S. firms operating in the PRC.  On Saturday, the BIC tweeted:

“Just had a long and very good call with President Xi of China. Deal is moving along very well. If made, it will be very comprehensive, covering all subjects, areas and points of dispute.  Big progress being made!”

8:03 AM - 29 Dec 2018

Unfortunately, the infamous “people familiar with” the state of negotiations reported the BIC may be overstating how close the two sides are to an agreement.  The BIC exaggerating . . . say it ain’t so . . . what a shocker that would be!

            The BIC and his lovely arm candy made a surprise trip to visit the deployed troops in Iraq.  It was long overdue, but better late than never.  For being such a public character before he became POTUS, he is surprisingly awkward in such circumstances and has very little sense of propriety; but, that is who he is.  Unfortunately, he is incapable of avoiding his penchant for vomiting falsehoods to boost his ego.  He does not give the troops pay raises; Congress does.  There has never been a 10% pay raise.  In fact, the pay raises approved by Congress during his administration combined are less than half his claimed amount.  He just cannot help himself.  And worse, the BIC and all his followers truly wonder why the rest of us do not believe a word he says. Furthermore, he failed miserably to learn an essential lesson of public office—politics stops at the coastline. His bashing the Democrats, no matter how appropriate inside our borders, was grossly wrong beyond our borders. All of that I can discount because he simply is an egomaniacal, narcissistic blowhard; however, it was his gushing about experiencing a tactical approach in a war zone that was the most disgusting to me, since it accentuates his cowardly use of his daddy’s money to avoid the draft and military service during the Vietnam War. Sure, he was not the only one to do so during those years, but he is the only one to run for president.  He would have been far better served to have just kept his mouth shut.  Regrettably, he does not know how.  At the end of the day, at least he finally went and paid his respects to those who sacrifice on our behalf; he deserves credit even with all his faux pas.

            Comments and contributions from Update no.885:

“These illegals come here to AZ and qualify for AHCCCS .. As long as they report income less than $1000 a month they qualify for no premium, little or no copay health coverage .. Read the main page of AHCCCS.. Says its for AZ ‘residents’ .. Says nothing about legal citizens ... Do you care that you as a taxpayer pays for this ?? Especially with the extraordinary number of illegals coming into the system ?

“Yes the states need to step in and have more controls but many states don't. A finished wall will be a great deterrent from continued influx .. Then we can begin audit of just HOW MANY non citizens we are paying for !! 

“Yes, you served in the military .. Thank you for that ! That is a big reason I am shocked you take the stances you do ...

“As far as your reference to Trump being an ‘Ugly American’ .. Someone who works at zero salary who does nothing but try to assure America is not taken advantage of by other countries or orders .. He works at getting our taxes reduced .. He works at allowing us the best health care options and opens access to alternate treatments for disease to the dismay of Big Pharma and the AMA... If you look at other news sources you will see many other countries' citizens are on the streets protesting for instance massive immigration in Germany and taxation in France, etc .. Your news sources show people hating our president .. Other sources show quite the opposite .. 

“Trump tweets but he tweets because there has been unfair, untruthful statements made against him by the left wing controlled media.. Most of America sees this going on .. Those who don't .. They don't because they don't WANT to see it .. They truly don't WANT this president to succeed .. They have been inane in their hate from day 1 of Trump's campaign and their inflated egos will NEVER outwardly approve of him and NEVER admit he is trying to do well .. That's okay, we know who those people are ... We will overlook and continue to try to ignore them as they become more and more outnumbered.”

My reply:

            I have no data to validate the example you cite.  However, for the sake of our debate, let us assume your observation is 100% correct.  That is precisely why I previously stated that the only process that will work is a defense in depth.  One of many life lessons I learned during my service to this Grand Republic is, where there is a will there is a way.  There is no such thing as a perfect security system. Any security system can be overcome with sufficient motivation and effort.  Will the BIC’s vaunted wall stop illegal border crossings from the south; yes, it will stop some—the less motivated or less skilled, but it cannot stop them all.  That is why a defense in depth, which includes a barrier at the border when it makes sense, will buy time for the security forces to respond.

            So, if AHCCCS is for Arizona residents, why is the system providing any benefits to illegal migrants/immigrants?  That has nothing to do with the USG or a border wall.

            I do believe you are missing the point. The wall, any wall, is not a deterrent; it is only an impediment to be overcome like a river, mountains or the desert.  The only real deterrent is elimination of the motivation, i.e., there is no better life if a person does not follow the rules, which means we must enforce employment rules. Employers pay little to no penalty for violations of immigration status.  In England and Italy, I had to have a State approved & issued work permit; I had to register with local constabulary; I had to update my address, if I moved.  Their immigration control systems were not perfect, but they were a damn sight better than ours.

            If I understand your words correctly, since he donates his salary to governmental departments or charities, he can say whatever the hell he wants for any reason he wants?  Surely, that cannot be what you were trying to say.

            Interesting approach.  So, the BIC’s method of dealing with his perception of untruth is to spew more untruth, i.e., to fight fire with fire.  If I read your words correctly, I will have to disagree. More falsehood is not the solution.  I believe Justice Brandeis said it best, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”  The way to deal with perceived untruth is to speak the truth.

 . . . Round two:

“Not only will the wall highly impede illegal immigrant entry it will impede human trafficing..especially of children whom I predict you will be hearing more of ..its all over you tube..easy to see ... There has been some deep dark stuff going on in the U.S. and abroad especially since the 60s and much of it involving high profile and sick demonious  people .. Border crossings will be the only way in .. Its greatly necessary .. Its my and many many others' opinion and I know I’m not wrong ... You may call him a bully but a bully is what this country needed ... Someday, maybe soon, you might clearly understand ...”

 . . . my reply to round two:

            OK; I’ll bite.  How do you know this to be true?  Or, perhaps I should ask, why do you believe this to be true? Do you, or those you listen to, have experience with defensive operations?

            We shall respectfully disagree.  A bully is never what we need as a national leader.  We have never had a bully (not in any war, not ever) until the election of our current POTUS. I understand and accept the reality that you see him as the messiah.  I do not!  I’ve seen the destruction men like him have done to far too many organizations. I do not need another example; but now, we have the ultimate example . . . like it or not.

 . . . Round three:

“A 30 foot wall with only select and manned ports of entries .. We have satellites, drones and other surveillance equipment to assure no one scales or tunnels under them .. Simple .. Once built, its a permanent fix ..”

 . . . my reply to round three:

            To you and me, I would say you are spot on correct.  Neither one of us has any motivation to overcome an obstacle like a 30-foot wall.  What is different here is motivation.  I dare say a Central American refugee fleeing oppressive, drug lord induced violence, corruption and subjugation has considerably greater motivation to overcome the obstacle they face to reach the comparative safety of the promise land.  A single line of defense will never accomplish the objective we both seek. Once overcome, an illegal immigrant can find employment that pays far better than anything they could find in their homeland and comparative anonymity—no one will bother them as long as they obey the law.  The safety beyond the wall must be denied.  The wall will never do that.

            For the sake of our debate, why are you so resistant to a defense in depth, i.e., comprehensive immigration reform that eliminates the motivation for entering illegally in the first place?

            My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                        :-)

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