Category Archives: All Politics Is Local

A New Age for Immigrants

It seems those immigrants we tried to keep out are needed after all.

A moratorium of sorts has been decided against “sending back” some unregistered immigrants. We need them to pick the crops being planted and later to be harvested.

Immigrant labor also has been a mainstay in health care and elder care. We just didn’t realize it, assuming those refugees were only after our welfare benefits.

Now in this pandemic, we realize we need their contributions to our society.

We are reminded of the “Black Death” of the Middle ages, the bubonic plagues that devastated much of Europe at different times. So many people died, that wage earners were scarce. For a time, wages were pushed up.

As time passed and population grew again, things returned to normal. The rich got richer and the others settled into subsistence living.

Perhaps, with better understanding this time, we can develop an ongoing appreciation for the immigrants who enrich our lives and country and culture. Perhaps we can better care for all our workers in those lower echelon jobs, so necessary for our life.

Abortion Babies and War Babies

The issue of abortion is often cited as a reason for Trump’s support by some evangelicals. To be sure, many evangelicals are turned off by Trump’s self-centered governing. They justify their support by a hope that his policies will lead to stricter laws against abortion.

Yet the Trump administration is a strong supporter of the country of Saudi Arabia. That country has used American weapons to bomb hospitals and schools in a war in Yemen, killing innocent men, women, and children.

Wrote Marcia Robiou (Frontline, July 16, 2019): “Trump’s first official foreign visit was to the royal kingdom – an early sign that he would place a high value on his relationship with the House of Saud. As a candidate, he made Saudi weapons deals a campaign issue, promising they would generate American jobs and boost the U.S. economy.

‘Saudi Arabia is a big buyer of America product,’ Trump said when NBC’s Chuck Todd asked him about the decision to override Congress and push through the weapons deal.”

Thus, for the sake of money made by American arms dealers, the sale of weapons to a country who uses them to kill innocent civilians, including babies, is justified.

Are babies killed by American weapons less valuable than babies killed by abortion?

Water to a Stranger

Is it wrong to give a thirsty stranger a drink of water?

An American teacher was charged with a crime for feeding and sheltering two needy people. The teacher’s actions were similar to ones mentioned by Jesus as a sign of those who follow him (Matthew 25, New Testament). Apparently, however, these kinds of deeds are crimes if the people so helped are undocumented immigrants.

The right to secure borders should not preclude actions like dropping off water bottles to human beings dying of thirst or taking sick ones to a hospital.

Jim Wallis, of Sojourners, has said of the charged teacher (later acquitted): “He is being prosecuted for following the command of Jesus, which is to feed the hungry, refresh the thirsty and invite in the stranger.” (Quoted in “I can do no other,” Economist, June 15, 2019.)

It’s the Institutions, Stupid

That’s the title of an article by Julia Azari in Foreign Affairs (July/August 2019). The American political system, she says, has disappointed us because of a growing mismatch. The country’s political institutions no longer match political realities.

We operate under a system devised in the late eighteenth century, something of a dysfunctional dinosaur today.

Our system developed in a time when, for all practical purposes, “country” to the average American meant local or state governance. Few Americans traveled beyond the next town or read (if they were literate) anything other than the local paper.

Paulette Jiles’ novel News of the World paints a picture, even after the Civil War, of small town citizens willing to pay a fee to hear world news read to them. They knew little of the outside world, much less enjoyed our instant communication.

Today we move from San Francisco to Houston or Indianapolis to Nashville or across the country to other urban areas all the time. Some small towns and rural areas have been depopulated while cities are weighted down with massive growth. Yet we still tie our elections to the states through our constitutionally mandated electoral college.

Until we have the courage to change our system to represent the actual reality of our national concerns, Azari indicates, our government will continue to flounder.

Welfare Versus Opportunity

My son benefitted from the educational benefits given to veterans. He served a few years in the U.S. army, then received help with his tuition after he entered college. The vocation he now follows is possible because of that aid.

After World War II, millions of veterans took advantage of the “G.I. Bill of Rights” to receive aid for education and vocational training. That generation spurred the economic growth and unprecedented prosperity of the United States in the years following.

Welfare programs to meet basic needs are a part of any humane society. However, we would do well to give special attention to programs that enable ordinary people to find meaningful, rewarding work.

Ukraine: Flash Point

The end of the Cold War in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s now seems like ancient history. Almost forgotten is the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl and the place of Ukraine as a major center of nuclear weapons.

In those days, the United States was anxious to remove nuclear weapons from Ukraine, not wishing it to become another nuclear power when it became independent of the Soviet Union.

“In exchange for parting with all its weapons, Ukraine would get assurances of territorial integrity—not guarantees, a meaningful difference, but one that seemed not to matter so much in the heady, hopeful post-Cold War world.” (Serhii Plokhy and M.E. Sarotte, “The Shoals of Ukraine,” Foreign Affairs, January/February 2020)

Of course, as it turns out, the lack of iron clad guarantees that Ukraine would remain independent has mattered a great deal.

The authors continue: “Decades after they supposedly disappeared, Moscow’s imperial ambitions—which Putin pursues through the network that runs from the Kremlin through Ukraine to the White House—have now unsettled American democracy itself.”

Despite Ukraine’s efforts to decouple from Russia, Putin wants Ukraine back. Russian troops invaded the country to force it back into the Russian orbit.

In addition, Putin wants the Trump administration to abandon any American help for Ukraine. Donald Trump has always been stung by revelations that Russian interference in the 2016 election may have helped him win the election.

He was more than ready to believe, instead, Putin’s assertions that Russia never interfered. Against all evidence, Putin persuaded Trump to believe that Ukraine was the one who interfered.

Trump was willing to delay military help to Ukraine in its fight for survival against Russian forces. He was willing to block money funded by Congress for the Ukrainians. He was even willing to use it as a bribe . The bribe would be paid only if the Ukrainians searched for something unfavorable against a possible Democratic nominee against him in the 2020 election.

Rather than use our own processes set up for investigating corruption (FBI, congressional committee, etc.) Trump chose to bribe a foreign government with taxpayer money in a hidden deal.

Buying an Ambassadorship

All U.S. politically appointed ambassadors were ordered to quit their posts by the Trump administration when Donald Trump took office. Career ambassadors stayed. This is the usual practice when a new president takes over.

I spent most of my career in the State Department under career ambassadors, for which I was grateful. Of the two politically appointed ambassadors I served under, one did a credible job. The other appeared to be there mostly for the political trappings. Many such appointments are awarded for significant campaign contributions.

One politically appointed ambassador to a small European nation was known mostly for refurbishing the ambassador’s residence.

Politically appointed ambassadors rarely serve in impoverished developing nations or in those on the front lines of war. After all, more ambassadors have been killed than generals. You certainly don’t want that to happen to a party faithful.

Some political appointments do work out well, such as that of Pamela Harriman to the U.S. embassy in Paris. A wealthy socialite once married to the son of Winston Churchill, Harriman was noted for her keen political instincts. She no doubt spoke French very well.

The typical political appointee, however, doesn’t speak the country’s language, unless it’s English, and often knows more about NFL scores than about the foreign country’s history and politics.

Other democracies appoint their most seasoned foreign service officers as ambassadors to the United States. Dictatorships are prone to send cronies to their diplomatic posts.

Why I Rarely Give to Political Parties

I vote in every election open to me, but I rarely contribute to political campaigns.

Americans now give massive amounts of money to political causes. According to opensecrets.org, almost 1.5 billion in political spending was raised in 2016.

Until campaign finance laws are passed, I will probably continue my small rebellion against the outsize influence of money on our political process.

I will instead contribute to those worthy causes now struggling as they are bypassed for political giving.

Some are charitable—the local food bank or medical assistance program. Others are religious groups ministering to the grieving and confused. Some help young people find purpose to overcome the destruction caused by drugs.

Political parties feud over the number of Central Americans attempting to cross into the United States. I recently gave to a non-profit group teaching Central Americans better agricultural practices, providing doctors to encourage a healthier population, and lending help for economic activities so the people can support themselves—and not feel compelled to migrate.

Politics has raked in an incredible amount of money, while many other worthy groups suffer from neglect. I can vote for them with my small contributions.

Local Color

Recently the newspaper for our nearest metropolitan area ran a research series about water rights in our state. Water is a precious resource. Should the buying and selling of water rights be run as a for-profit business? Selling water rights has become a way of survival for older farmers with no one to take their places.

The articles provided input for dealing with this issue before it becomes critical. They were typical of the research and reporting of this daily newspaper.

Our smaller community newspaper lets us know about our city council meetings and various local events. It provides a forum for the varied opinions of local citizens. To judge by the number and depth of recent letters to the editor for local candidates, you would not know it was an “off” election year. Local journalism is part of the process.

Newspapers tied to a particular area cannot be replicated by Facebook. Though I occasionally use Facebook for keeping up with acquaintances, I never, ever use it as a source of news. I don’t know why anyone would.

I know the bona fides of my local news sources. I don’t know if a Facebook piece is written by an expert, a Russian troll, or a mentally unbalanced hater.

I’m convinced more than ever of what I learned in my first journalism class in the days of the Cold War: a democracy cannot exist without locally supported newspapers.

What Does “Drain the Swamp” Mean?

The current administration promised to “drain the swamp” when it was elected. What has that meant?

Swamp draining has meant more political ambassadors, appointed because they donated money to a candidate. The number of career ambassadors serving at U.S. embassies is at the lowest level since records have been kept.

Draining the swamps has meant desertion of allies like the Kurds. It has meant holding back funds, for political purposes, voted on by Congress to help Ukrainian allies fight Russian incursion into their country. It has meant losing the respect of our allies.

“Please stay.” That’s the plea from the president of the American Foreign Service Association, as seasoned diplomats quit in frustration.

Fewer young people sign up to take the Foreign Service exam, no longer inspired to enter government service.

Not only in the State Department but in other agencies as well, turnover at the top has been unprecedented. Apparently, swamp draining means little cohesion even among those chosen by the administration. Cabinet secretaries and other appointed officials have quit, some fired by tweet, others leaving in disgust.

Here’s a look at the amount of turnover at the top tiers of our government.

Make your own decision about what draining the swamps means.

Jesus in the Voting Booth

“Forty years ago in Houston, Texas, a group of conservative pastors pulled off a heist at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention that reshaped both America’s biggest Protestant denomination and its national politics.” (Lexington: “On the Edge,” The Economist, June 15, 2019)

The article comments on the denomination’s story since that Houston meeting. Many evangelical leaders became openly political, usually favoring candidates from the Republican party.

Forty years on, what has been the result of the politicalization of a denomination? According to the article: “The confidence that fueled the 1979 resurgence is long gone. The convention’s membership . . . is at its lowest in 30 years, and falling. Half of all Southern Baptist children leave the faith . . .”

What’s the takeaway? Perhaps a call for the support of certain directions rather than support of a particular party.

Jesus’ ministry took place in an empire ruled by an aristocratic elite, but we still might learn from his interaction with the leaders of the day. He seemed inordinately concerned for the poor, the hungry, the sick, the dying, and the grieving.

Jesus welcomed any of the wealthy who came to him. However, he told stories like the one consigning a rich man to the flames of hell because of the man’s disregard for the poor beggar in his neighborhood.

Perhaps Christians might vote with these examples in mind.

It’s Close Enough For Government Work

“It’s close enough for government work,” the old joke goes. Actually, much “government” work these days is not done by government employees but by contractors. That’s because, over the years, the belief grew that the government employed too many people.

We could save money by contracting work to what many believed were more efficient business models, so the idea went.

However, the reduction led to backlogs for some agencies, like the Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration.

In addition, as the The New York Times (January 3, 2014) pointed out: “ . . . the current practice of contracting out vast swaths of government work indefinitely . . . has created a bloated federal-contractor sector in which the public good is often subservient to profit.”

The outsourcing of work can seem unfair, for example, if a contract worker in a war zone makes a much higher salary than a soldier for Uncle Sam serving in the same area.

No one supposes government employees are all sterling characters. Oversight is required. However, they are generally hired for a particular job function. Unlike contractors, they are not there to make as much money as possible off the taxpayers.

When I worked in a U.S. embassy overseas as a career government employee, I cooperated with the information tech contractors who came to install new computer systems in the embassy. They were nice guys (all males, as I remember) and as far as I could tell did an adequate job with the new systems.

They went back to their hotel at five in the afternoon, followed by an evening out. I usually stayed another hour or so, taking advantage of the quiet to finish work.

If an American citizen called in with an overnight emergency, I came in and worked as long as necessary to find some resolution for the problem.

I had my job, and the contractors had theirs. Contracting makes sense in areas where the need for the work increases for a limited time or requires unusual expertise.

Certainly, U.S. government employees have been guilty of shoddy work, or worse, betraying their country. They take an oath, however, to obey the laws and Constitution of the United States and often develop pride in what they see as serving their country.

With the number of contractors in recent years found guilty of misusing their access to government documents, that sense of pride should not be lightly dismissed.

The Biggest Finding from the Mueller Investigation

From Stephen Kotkin (“American Hustle, What Mueller Found—and Didn’t Find—About Trump and Russia)” in Foreign Affairs, July/August 2019):

“ . . . Russians approaching the Trump campaign could not figure out whom to contact, who was in charge, or who mattered. . . . Putin, supposedly, could help Trump get elected but could not talk to him, despite the publically expressed eagerness of Trump and his people to enter into contact and make deals.”

Jared Kushner is quoted as saying, “They thought we colluded, but we couldn’t even collude with our local offices.”

Apparently, the Trump campaign was so poorly organized that the Russians couldn’t figure out who to talk to. Trump’s people didn’t collude with the Russians because, in Kotkin’s opinion, they were too inept to do so.

The Money that Isn’t There

The late Senator John McCain strongly supported legislation for reform of political campaign funding. The McCain-Feingold Act was passed in 2002.

However, the Supreme Court undid much of the reform in various rulings, including the Citizens United ruling in 2010. The decisions opened the door for unlimited contributions from corporations and allowed more channels of secret money to pour into political campaigns.

According to opensecrets.org, election spending for the 2016 presidential and congressional elections was 6.5 billion dollars.

In a political process depending more and more on money, the advantages to the wealthy are obvious.

Consider also the increasing amounts of money given to political campaigns that might previously have been given to other causes—programs for troubled youth, drug rehabilitation, spiritual growth, to name a few.

Politics has consumed us in the past few years. We seem to believe that the magic candidate will solve all of America’s problems. Even ordinary citizens of limited means, who never before gave politically, turn anger into campaign spending.

In truth, it’s probably the efforts of individuals and small groups concerned for neighbors that do more good. But money given in the past for such programs may be finding its way into political campaigns instead.

Where We Go For the Most Important News

My husband and I subscribe to digital versions of a couple of national newspapers, including our closest major metropolitan daily.

However, the one we faithfully pull out of the newspaper tube next to our mailbox is our twice weekly local newspaper. This one may be the most important.

What did our city council consider in its last meeting about the proposed zoning plans for the city?

How long will one of the ferries serving our island be removed before another replaces it?

What’s going on at the arts center?

We scan the local police report, too.

Oh, yes—there’s the picture of our local high school graduates. Also, a story on the end of the sports year at the school. Announcements of scholarships and what the two student speakers at the commencement will be talking about.

Let’s see, here’s an article about the elementary school students harvesting vegetables from their garden.

We check the events calendar—everything from a library book sale to a meeting for children of alcoholics and dysfunctional families.

Of course, we must read the letters from readers—this is where our neighbors endorse candidates, weigh in on government proposals, and make their opinions known.

All newspapers face challenges today. One of our civic duties is to keep them as strong as possible.

Support is especially vital for our local papers. Regular reporting on local governments and the issues which affect our lives, more than anything else, favors a strong democracy.

Rotten Boroughs

Parts of Britain, by the 1800’s, were known as “rotten boroughs.” A rotten borough was an election district that had lost significant population due to industrialization and movement to cities. The remaining shrunken population still elected a representative to the British parliament.

Meanwhile, in contrast, growing cities had little representation in parliament.

Gradual reforms eventually led to a fairer system, giving more representation to the cities.

Our voting system today doesn’t approach the unfairness of the rotten borough, but it bears resemblances.

Each state, whether California (2010 census: 37,252, 895) or Wyoming (2010 census: 563,757) elects two senators.

California elects 53 representatives to the U.S. House of Representatives. Wyoming elects one representative.

A combination of those numbers forms the “electoral college.” This electoral college, according to the U.S. Constitution, elects the president. It has 538 members (equal to 100 senators plus 435 representatives, plus 3 members for the District of Columbia).

Each electoral vote from California represents 719,219 Californians. An electoral vote from Wyoming represents 192,579 citizens of Wyoming. Thus, the citizens of some states enjoy more representation in the election of the president.

Several movements are attempting to change the election of the president to more equally reflect the population of the United States. However, whether one loathes it or loves it, the election of the president by the electoral college is, at present, perfectly legal.

However, one reason for less representation of urban voters in the House of Representatives has to do with the “gerrymandering” of voting districts by state legislators. Gerrymandering means the party in power too often draws voting lines to favor its members rather than honestly reflecting the population of the state.

Surely, true representative government rests on accurate representation of actual voters.

No pay, mortgages, orthodontics

Sunny Blaylock is married to a U.S. diplomat. She and their children accompanied her husband to his assignment in Malaysia. Families were not allowed at his next post, however, in Pakistan, due to terrorist concerns.

She stayed a year in Malaysia with the children, while her husband worked to strengthen U.S. interests in Pakistan.

Her husband’s next assignment was a home assignment, to the U.S. State Department in Washington. The family looked forward to being together again. Ms. Blaylock received the offer of a job with a small U.S. contracting company.

She began working for the company, but then the government shut down. The company could no longer afford to hire her.

Her husband continues to work, but without pay at present.

Meanwhile, the mortgage must be paid, and their orthodontist has told them that their daughter needs braces . . .

Competition: Politics and Charity

I’m sure I’m not the only one inundated this past political season with emails pleading for donations for various candidates.

Some of them may have been from Russian trolls for all I know, but others certainly were from legitimate candidates, including those I voted for.

How much of the money we formerly gave to religious causes, to the needy, and to other charitable concerns is now going into political campaigns?

Politics has become more than a civic duty. It has become our newest religion.

That may be another argument for campaign finance reform.

Exhausted Majority

Something like 86 percent of Americans are a politically exhausted majority according to the results of a survey. (Sojo.net; Hidden Tribes)

The exhausted include: Traditional Liberals, Passive Liberals, Politically Discouraged (biggest at 26 percent), Moderates, and Traditional Conservatives.

Apparently the only ones enthusiastically pressing on are the Progressive Activists (8 percent) and the Devoted Conservatives (6 percent).

As the article points out, it’s no longer us versus them as far as the majority is concerned.

We need peacekeepers and civility projects and forums for the majority of Americans who are not extremists.

Ignore the haters. Visit the safe places to meet and heal.

We the People?

We have great cities, huge corporations, a dynamic economy. But we are failing to develop our people.

The wealthy accumulate more wealth, but the tax base shrinks. More of our taxes come from ordinary working people rather than the wealthy. Ordinary people pay taxes; the wealthy hire lawyers to find loopholes.

How much better to invest more of that wealth in building up ordinary families: schools, college, continuous job training, health care. “The country needs to rethink the role of human capital and invest substantially in doing so.” (Kenneth F. Scheve and Matthew J. Slaughter, “How to Save Globalization,” Foreign Affairs, November/December 2018.)

One with minimal schooling and training can no longer walk into a life time job, with benefits. Yet jobs—our daily service—are part of our self-worth.

It is, as the authors point out, not just too many ill-paying jobs but the fact that labor is so unrewarded for too many.

They propose investments, not only in education but in life long training to meet a changing job market. “ . . . it is human capital, more than any other asset, that determines an individual’s changes of thriving in a dynamic economy. The United States should expand its investments in human capital at every stage of American life.”

In other words, invest in “we the people.”