An America that Demands an Explanation the Very Next Day

  On March 9, news broke that Susan Rice allegedly told our Intelligence Community to "stand down" on its investigation of Russia interfering in the U.S. election.
  The very next day, every principal in the story was called into a hearing to determine if the "stand down" order did take place, and, if so, why it was given.
   Now, actually such a meeting never took place. But, I wish it had. I wish we were such lovers of truth that we demanded an answer and sought to get to the bottom of things the very next day. Susan Rice dropped what she was doing and came to the meeting. The accusers dropped what they were doing and came to the meeting. Others were called in. None pleaded the Fifth. None said they would not comment. Everybody was frank and open and forthcoming. No one dodged out. No one hid from telling the truth.
   There might be times you might get to the bottom of things immediately. Just get all the principals there, have each tell everything they know, and that might complete the matter.
   I would like to think we valued truth so much as this -- that we demanded to know the truth the very next day. This would be an America I would love. It would take an honest and forthcoming type of people, but let us be that people.
   And, as I write, it occurs to me that this could be a way of handling the whole Russian investigation, itself. Maybe it could not be achieved in a day, but you could go a long ways in two or three. Call in all the principals -- everyone you could think of. Let each of them tell everything they know  -- publicly, for this would be a meeting open to the public.
   And, let Donald Trump and Barack Obama not be left out. They, too, would tell all that they knew.
   Then, if we wanted or still needed an investigation after this blitzkrieg hearing, then we would have one. But, we would start out by getting everything on the table that could immediately be put on the table.
   Truth would take the first step in our search for the truth. And, if things remained hidden from the truth, then you could seek them out.

If She does no Harm by being Here, What Just Law Kicks Her Out?

   She remains at the church, her request that her case be reopened having been denied. Vicky Chavez, with her two young daughters is sheltering from grasp of immigration officials at the First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City.

   Border agents have made it a practice not to capture immigrants when they are in churches, and hospitals and other sensitive places. 

   I will wonder on Chavez's case. What harm would she do, if she were set free? What damage would it be, if she and her children were allowed to remain? She is hardly a thief, hardly a drug runner. If those are the elements we seek to screen out with our immigration policies, then why refuse to let this one stay? Why reject this mother and her two children?

   What means more to us -- rule of law, or whether the rules are just? Is it just to throw this mother and her two children out? Yes, rule of law is important, but it is also important to get rid of laws that are unjust. If someone is doing no harm by being here, what just law would kick them out?

When You have a Love of all Mankind, then You Serve all Mankind

  When your are elected to serve, you must be mindful of that that word 'serve' and who it applies to. Service is a trait of the Christian, and of those who don't even believe in God but who believe in doing good. Those who are service-oriented are blessed with the tendency to love not just those in their own family or in their own group, but everyone -- all mankind.
   So, who should they serve? Just those who voted for them? Just those from their own district or from their home state? No, if they love all mankind, they seek the betterment of all mankind. When service is part of your make up -- when it is in your DNA, so to speak -- then you serve all of humanity.

"The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respected Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations . . ." 

-- George Washington

“The bosom of America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respected Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations and Religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges...”

— George Washington

Don't Send These to Me, for I will Sweep them Right Back out the Door

You remember a couple days ago, that lady who crawled up the Statue of Liberty? What she really was trying to do, was get a better look at the poem that's posted there. Looking closely, she found what it really says is, "Don't give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. If you did that, that would be an invasion. No, and don't send the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, for they are all criminals -- criminals just for coming. And please don't send the homeless, tempest-tost to me, for they will only want my welfare and my hospital care -- and they are way too poor to pay for what they need. So, seeing all the problems they will cause, I lift my broom as they try to come in, and I sweep them right back out, for my door is golden, and the only people walking through it should be those who will keep it that way by helping make me rich."

More on Judy Olsen's Suggestion

 In order to work legally in the United States, you need to pay federal taxes. So, in order for Judy Olsen's suggestion to work, we would need to make some kind of agreement with the federal government.
  I blogged yesterday on Olsen's letter to the Deseret News, noting she suggested Utah offer I.D. cards to undocumented residents, allowing them to pay state taxes and work. I liked her idea, noting that getting them to work legally and pay taxes would be a good thing.
   But, I failed to recognize that they wouldn't be working legally unless they were paying federal taxes. Employers are required to hook them up to the federal taxes.
  So, if we want the program to work, how do we do it? Could we make an arrangement with the federal government to tax the immigrants, without having their names released to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents?
  Or, could we deduct the tax and pass it onto the federal government without releasing their names to the federal government? The employer is then deducting the tax as required by law. And, the immigrant is then paying the tax as required by law. And, he is not required to file income taxes as long as he has not underpaid on the taxes.
  The better way of the two suggestions is to get the federal government to sign of on the program, but I have doubts as to whether we could get that approval.

Famous Illegal Immigrants

 "Wonder if anyone has ever compiled a list of famous Americans who were once illegal," I ask on Facebook. "Are there any? I'd like to think so, but do not know."
   I search, and am surprised at who I find. The names are not just of Americans, but they are big names, including a former governor. Quora.com lists John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Charlie Chaplin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Michael J. Fox.
   Buzzfeed adds actresses Salma Hayek and Academy Award-winning Charlize Theron, and the star of The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan, to the list.
   The Hollywood Reporter says Oscar nominee Demian Bichir overstayed his visa. He later was naturalized as part of President Reagan's amnesty. The Reporter also says The Associated Press has reported that Melanie Trump was paid for 10 jobs without having a work visa to be here. And, the Reporter says Hiep Thi Le, the star of Heaven & Earth came to the U.S. on a forged document.
   WBAL TV says world-renown brain surgeon Alfredo Quinones-Hinjosa once scaled the fence at the Mexican border to enter the United States.
  The Washington Examiner tells the story of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio, who in 2012 told the New York Times Magazine that he was illegal. He wrote a piece in Time titled, Not Legal Not Leaving. Border Patrol agents seized and detained him in 2014, but I don't know if he was deported.