Okay, MAGA. Why? #349
By Hank Silverberg
Commentary
I am flummoxed. I just don't get it, and I probably never will. But I would like to sit down with a MAGA and have a rational conversation on what's going on in America and why they like it.
There have been times in the past where our government has turned on immigrants, even though immigrants helped build this country. Anti-Semitism crops up its ugly head time and again even as American Jews succeed and are notable participants in the American way of life. And even as Israel, the only functioning democracy and our ally in the Middle East, continues to be attacked by the hostile countries in the region.
Racism has always been under the surface in many places in America since before there was a United States, even as people of color, from Powhattan to Barack Obama, have tried to bring us all together.
So I have come up with a list of facts for you to put to that one person in your family or your neighborhood who thinks Donald Trump is a good president and has done great things for our country.
*Let's start with the economy:
Did you know that undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion into our economy in 2022 (the last year figures are calculated for)?
And while there is a substantial cost of providing some services to illegal immigrants, figures that are disputable, you must note they are NOT eligible for Social Security or Medicare, even though many of them pay into both those programs through payroll deductions. It could cost as much as $1 TRILLION to deport the estimated 13 million illegal aliens in the United States. That's money that would not be well spent.
But even if you think deportation is the right thing to do, the ICE raids that picked up American citizens by mistake based on skin color do not provide anyone arrested with the due process guaranteed by the 4th and 6th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. (It is my prediction that eventually the U.S. Supreme Court will see it that way and order a stop to the current tactics, but many people are concerned that Trump will ignore that ruling.)
If illegal immigrants are all deported, the United States will experience a severe labor shortage. There are not many Americans who will sign up to mow your lawn, pick fruit, or clean your house or put up dry wall.
*Lets look at cutting the size of the federal government:
DOGE did a hatchet job, just cutting things without much analysis of the impact while saving very little money (a disputed figure of $55 billion).
Here are just two examples of the negative impact on U.S. foreign policy:
The elimination of USAid, which sent aid to many places across the globe spread America good will and created American influence in countries that often have the natural resources we need was a foreign policy disaster. An estimated 90,000 children have died while undelivered food rotted in warehouses because of the elimination of USAid. American good will is now nonexistent. And China has stepped in to help our former friends.
Then there is Voice of America. which was designed in the 1960's to create friends and influence in countries with hostile leaders. It brought accurate news and information to places where negative propaganda aimed at the United States damaged our reputation. It's gone, and with it our ability to influence millions of people to remain our friends. .
There is also the morality surrounding Mr. Trump himself:
*34 felony convictions and a civil conviction for sexual assault. Add to that his persistent use of his high office to make money for himself with merchandise bearing his name or image and his acceptance of personal gifts like a $400 million airplane from a foreign government.
Finally, there is his constant attack and political revenge on anyone who has ever opposed him on anything, and the absurdity of it all. It can be anyone from political rivals like Kamala Harris, to entertainers like Taylor Swift.
If I were making this argument to a MAGA, they would have started screaming at me somewhere around "they are NOT eligible for Social Security, or Medicare," because they just don't want to believe that Mr. Trump or his lemmings in Congress are lying to them. And therein lies the big problem.
There is also the attacks on the free press that threatens the truth on what you see and hear about the world around you. I will save that for another blog.
But I still want to have a one-on-one, in-person engagement with a MAGA, just to prove to him that people who disagree with Trump's policies and criticize his deeply flawed personality are not "communists" or "traitors" or "woke leftists". We are just very concerned Americans who see him slowly chipping away our basic rights, one item at a time--basic rights that will affect us all, including MAGA's.
News You May Have Missed
Mid-Term Politics
Much of the electoral politics this year has focused on the 2026 Congressional races and the battle over redistricting in Texas and elsewhere. But what is happening in Virginia this year may be one of the things that has the GOP worried.
Virginia, which in recent years has served as a
model for the the divisiveness in the rest of the
This week, a new poll on this year's governor's race provides a good thermometer for the rest of the country. Virginia is a blue state, but one that has shaded purple a few times in the last decade.
The candidates for governor in 2025 include two women, Youngkin's Republican Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, and former Democratic Congresswoman. Abigail Spanberger. The DOGE cuts are a big issue in Virginia. which has 190,000 federal jobs and $106 billion in federal government contracts.
Earle-Sears, who has Trump's endorsement, said she wanted to talk about "real issues" when asked about the DOGE impact last week. That has given Spanberger good ammunition to continue her attack on the GOP. The latest Real Politics Poll has Spanberger up by an average 7.5%, a good lead with just over three months until election day. And there is a message there for the GOP.
Human Composting
There's a trend in the funeral business to offer up a new option besides traditional burial or cremation. It's called a "green funeral" that includes human compositing by forgoing chemical embalming and using a biodegradable casket. It's legal in 13 states. and 15 other states have legislation under consideration to allow it.
The National Funeral Directors Association says 62% of the people who died in 2024 were cremated, 33% were buried. but 68% of consumers they asked said they would consider "green funerals".
But don't expect this to happen in your back yard.
The body is placed in a vessel with a mixture of plant material, woodchips, straw and alfalfa. It takes five to seven weeks for the whole thing to change into nutrient-rich topsoil. The mixture is then removed and allowed to cure another two to three weeks before it can be used in parks, forests and even gardens. There is also a non-profit that specializes in giving some of that compost to the loved ones of the deceased for either composting or scattering.
Comment: Sorry. Not for me. I've seen the movie "Soylent Green."
https://americansfortaxfairness.org/undocumented-immigrants-contribute-economy/
https://www.thepricer.org/how-much-does-it-cost-to-deport-an-illegal-immigrant/
Dumbest Quote Of The Week
This week's dumbest quote comes from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. It is actually his reaction to a quote from Doug Wilson, cofounder of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, which advocates that women should submit to their husbands. In a CNN interview, Mr. Wilson also said that the women's right to vote should be repealed. and in an ideal world people would vote by household, not as individuals. He also said "I’d like to see the nation be a Christian nation, and I’d like to see the world be a Christian world."
A spokesman for Hegseth, who has invited Wilson to visit the Pentagon, said the Defense Secretary is a "proud member of the church." In an online post reacting to Wilson's comments, Hegseth himself used the church's slogan. "All of Christ for All of Life."
For many Christians that comment may not be a big deal by itself, until you connect it to Wilson's church.
Hegseth resides over a military where 231,741 women (17%) play a vital role in the defense of our country.
(You suggestions and comments are welcome)
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