Anti-Vaxxers have adopted a slogan from “abortion rights” advocates: “My
body, my choice.”
Yes, President Biden surely should have listened, but he seems to have been determined to pull out before the 20th anniversary of 9/11 even before he took office, now to the great detriment of most Afghans, as well as of the US and the rest of our partners. He might have left some troops there, as has happened in Iraq, though apparently US troops left there initially, then came back when Iraq requested it. Those troops are still there without creating any great hue and cry about it here in the US. Probably few people are even aware of it. Even a very unlikely invitation by the current rulers of Afghanistan asking the US to please come back to help restore order would probably be refused. Biden had envisioned the pullout as part of his "legacy" and now it is, but in a negative sense. The erroneous drone strike during the pullout further tarnished the US role and Biden’s Afghan legacy. Now the Taliban are reportedly hanging corpses in public places and threatening to cut off the hands of thieves.
Joe
Biden
is in trouble, probably incentivizing Donald Trump’s re-election bid, with Biden
now reportedly polling only 37% among crucial independent voters, many of whom
are feeling buyers’ remorse, while Harris does better. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10018545/Bidens-approval-rating-hits-new-low-37-independent-voters-Kamala-46.html
Trump outpaced
Biden in approval ratings briefly for
the first time since the two faced off in the 2020 presidential election. Biden
dropped to about 46 per cent while Trump rose to 48 per cent. It's pretty
scary to think we might have Trump back in office again, eager to settle scores. He
would be even worse than the first time around.
A $6 million
vote audit by Trump supporters in Maricopa County, Arizona, gave
more winning votes than before to Biden. So now Trump is promoting another vote
audit in Texas. But since the 2020 Texas vote already went for Trump, what’s
the point? Apparently, the audit will take place only in areas which Biden won.
ABC News, Biden admin missed red flags before Haitian migrant surge
As mentioned last time, surely Biden’s announced extension of TPS for Haitians already in the country was distorted and propagated via the internet. Meanwhile, after mistreatment of Haitian refugees by border agents was highlighted, Biden now has a big immigration hole to climb out of.
LA Times, Haitian migrants pour out of U.S. into Mexico to avoid being sent back home
BBC News, Angry
scenes at Haiti airport as deported migrants arrive
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10017749/Haitian-deportees-assault-pilots-ICE-agents-deported-Port-au-Prince.html
Daily Beast, Thousands of Haitians Have Been Admitted Into the U.S. This Week, Report Says.
Reuters, Some Haitians at U.S. border released, others deported as pressure builds on Biden
US special envoy for Haiti RESIGNS amid
'inhumane decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees' | Daily Mail Online https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10020979/US-special-envoy-Haiti-RESIGNS-amid-inhumane-decision-deport-thousands-Haitian-refugees.html
Biden is in a bind, as black and Haitian-affiliated lawmakers have asked him to halt Haitian deportations and Amnesty International is preparing strategies on protecting the migrants’ rights.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/573659-dhs-suspends-horse-patrols-but-ramps-up-haiti-repatriation-flightsDHS
officials said Thursday [9/23/2021] that 1,400 people had been removed to Haiti
after completing 13 different flights. Another 3,200 are in DHS custody awaiting their fate. DHS
officials repeatedly declined to provide figures for how many Haitians had been
released into the U.S. under another provision of the law called Title 8.
Yahoo News, Exclusive: U.S. border
authorities warn of possible influx of Haitians migrating by boat
Advocates for Haitian migrants not only point
to all the natural and human caused disasters afflicting their country, but are
alleging racism in the treatment of Haitians.
Meanwhile, the Biden Administration had mentioned possibly sending
migrants to Guantanamo, as Bill Clinton did with Cubans. Remember when
Cuban boat people were sent to G’tmo? Here’s an article from Aug. 20, 1994 LA Times, Clinton Halts Special Treatment for Cubans: Refugees:
Detainment in Guantanamo and Florida ordered. The decision permanently reverses
30-year policy.
Not only have Cubans been sent to G’tmo, but Haitians
have been sent there previously as well. However, after withering criticism of
its migrant policy, the administration discarded this option. Reuters, White
House says it is not sending Haiti migrants at border to Guantanamo
Miami
Herald, 16 more Cuban migrants caught off the Florida Keys — they were
sent back
While migrants may have dominated the recent news cycle, Covid
has continued making its deadly inroads. Not only are virtual meetings, masking,
and distancing now part of everyday life, but a new vocabulary has arisen, including
“in the before times.” Unlike some other illnesses, Covid’s trajectory can be
swift, as I have witnessed myself, with someone here today and gone in just days
or a couple of weeks. Those of us of a certain age might have envisioned our
own future decline as moving more slowly, allowing plenty of time for our loved
ones to gather around our bedside for a final farewell. But that scenario often
does not play out with Covid.
Daily Beast, ‘Mama,
I Don’t Want to Die’: 20-Year-Old’s COVID Death the Latest Among Younger Victims
A recent article in the Washington Post, apparently
with no intended irony, was headlined Even
within media, some question intensity of Gabby Petito coverage
On
the gun front, a young man visiting Minnesota from his home in Arizona said he
just “snapped” when he shot 4 people to death. If he had merely “snapped” without
possessing a gun, they wouldn’t now be dead and he wouldn’t be facing life in prison.
Here’s another all-too-common headline:
Fox
News, Texas boy, 2, fatally shoots himself after finding relative's
gun: cops
ABC News, 1 dead, 13 hurt in shooting at Kroger grocery store near
Memphis: Police [Shooter is also dead]
We would all be made much safer by collecting every personal firearm from the entire country and melting them all down! It’s way past time to get rid of the unworkable individual “right to bear arms” promoted by the NRA. Firearms possession should be limited to trained military, police, and “militias,” as was originally envisioned by the founding fathers; the NRA pushed hard later for a distortion of their intent. Pro-lifers also need to get behind removing gun possession from individual citizens.
I was reminded
recently of being invited to Romania to help evaluate children's residential
facilities there after Ceausescu's assassination in 1989, as per my Confessions
book. Because I know Spanish, to my surprise, I was able to understand much of spoken
Romanian, which also a romance language. After my return, I wrote about my trip
for our association magazine, OT Week, including in that story a
photo of a girl I saw in one of the facilities for "irrecuperables."
She was about 6 years old. An American couple fell in love with the photo
and adopted her. When she first came into their home, she refused to speak
Romanian with an acquaintance of theirs and cut up photos taken of her in
Romania. A few years later, I invited her and her mother to one of our occupational
therapy association conferences where, at about age 9, she confidently fielded
questions from a room full of therapists. Later, she majored in math and
Spanish in college and I just contacted her again via Facebook where she told
me she is a math and Spanish tutor for a private organization. So, we are now back
in touch. For her privacy, I won’t mention her name or location. But her
trajectory shows how chance can govern so many important aspects of a life. I’d
used her photo in my story, but could easily have chosen another.
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