While Trump has everyone focused on his relationship with “Chuck and Nancy,” we’d better be paying attention to what’s going on behind the scene.  Yes, there’s many in America – a solid majority – who want to see the Dreamers get permanent “green cards” and most of those support a “path to citizenship” – and, this is a very important issue.  But, there’s a lot going on that could be devastating to this nation over the “long haul” if “we the people” fail to pay attention to what Trump’s doing while we’re not watching.

For starters, most people know he’s got Kris Kobach, the Secretary of State from Kansas busy attempting to create a voter (suppression) data base that would include virtually all the important information about every voter in America.  Thankfully, most of the other Secretaries of State are refusing to cooperate – and, ironically, even Kobach can’t cooperate because it’s against the law in Kansas to give this information.  Kobach is a Trump “lackey” willing to help push the idea that Trump would have won the “popular vote” had 3 – 5 MILLION illegal aliens not ALL voted for Hillary Clinton.  (Probably the most startling (depressing) part of this SCAM is there’s MILLIONS of Americans STUPID enough to fall for it)

So, Trump’s trying to suppress the vote via his “voter integrity” SCAM and, at the same time, there’s the REAL “fake news” out there – like Fox “news” (ie GOP news), Breitbart, Limbaugh, and others pushing the right wing conspiracy theories that – like with the voter suppression plan – MILLIONS of Americans are (again, I hate to use this word, but, I’m tired of “beating around the bush”) STUPID enough to fall for it.  People I know who watch Fox can’t even be communicated with.  They’re convinced they’ve been “educated” by Sean Hannity and the other “water carriers” and they get mad if you even suggest they might “fact check” some of the propaganda.

Now we have the Sinclair Broadcasting company attempting to merge with The Tribune corporation gaining an ever larger monopoly on local TV Stations in America.  If this merger goes through, there will be even more places where the only “news” people receive will be SLANTED to the hard right and we’ll have even more people thinking Trump is actually “draining the swamp” while he’s doing precisely the opposite.  Of course, those responsible for BLOCKING something like this merger would be Trump appointees and, I’m sure I don’t have to explain what that suggests.  (Back in the 60’s Marshall McLuhan, essentially, warned us of the “electronic age” which those on the fringe right have used to push their agenda.  And, it’s an agenda that’s aimed at prolonging “white privilege.”  This era in America really reminds me of South Africa in the last years of Apartheid.)

This surreptitious control is what Karl Rove was implying when he talked about the “permanent republican majority.”  They’ve got control of Congress, the White House (sort of), the Courts, and the media.  This is VERY dangerous.  Right now, there’s action from Trump to open the Arctic wildlife preserve for oil drilling – instead of attempting to figure out how to prevent more and more ice from melting.  Trump approved the Keystone pipeline shortly after taking the oath of office and if that actually goes through we’ll have the world’s DIRTIEST oil traveling through pipelines with histories of accidents right through the water supply of at least 100 MILLION Americans – including many of the most important farming areas in the country.  The list could go on and on.

Trump has been busy repealing Obama directives aimed at protecting the environment and protecting consumers from predator businesses as a couple examples.  It’s just a matter of time until these moves create devastating circumstances for many of those of us who call ourselves “we the people.”  His Education Secretary could be causing damage that will take years to “fix” if progressives can stand together and reverse this push to the “right” which is being helped along by the so-called “liberal media”  (That term is one of the cruelest “jokes” played on America in the past three decades and it’s turning numerous good working class people into – well, Trump supporters)  Don’t let Trump’s “deals” with “Chuck and Nancy” fool you.

For example, I read the other day where Betsy DeVoss (the Secretary of Education) was relaxing protections against sexual assaults on College Campuses.  These regulations SHOULD be enhanced NOT relaxed – and, you’d think someone of her gender would understand this.  Additionally, I’m anticipating attempts to further undermine public education beyond what “No child Left Behind” did to many schools working with low income students.

Of course, lately Trump has many people focused on those students who were pulled “from the shadows” by President Obama with the DACA program by repealing Obama’s executive order.  Now, approximately 800 THOUSAND hard working Americans (that’s the only country they’ve known) face the prospect of deportation – or, falling back into the “shadows” because of Trump’s actions.  Yes, there’s an attempt to get Congress to come up with a solution, but the politics of this issue could prevent the so-called agreement Trump made with “Chuck and Nancy” from happening.  Trump supporters are BURNING their Trump “MAGA” hats on YouTube in protest of Trump’s willingness to show compassion for these young people. (many who are in the military)  I guess these fine young people must just “hold their breath” for the next 5 months in the hopes that Congress acts.  To me, that, in itself, is cruel.

The really sad part of this issue is they’ve (Dreamers) all provided the government with all the information they need to gather them (and their families) up and ship them back to the countries they came from.  I taught in a school which had a large number of Latino students, many of whom were “illegal.”  I remember a young lady who was a wonderful student and wonderful person telling me she came into America holding onto her mother’s back as her Mom crawled under a fence on the border.  Both of her parents were extremely hard working people and they were – as have many, many immigrants who came to this country – fighting to provide a better life for their children.  It sickens me to think this young girl might be one of the many fine young American “immigrants” who became a “Dreamer” and may be vulnerable to deportation due to Trump’s executive order ending DACA.  (I believe she’s graduated from College – and, trust me, it was a real challenge for her to make it through college financially)

I’m sure there’s a plethora of “stuff” going on behind the scenes that when “we the people” actually find out the details MANY of us will be very angry.  There’s been such progress since the 1960’s and it feels as if many Trump supporters want to take us back even farther than that.  Charlottesville clearly showed the danger that lies ahead if “we the people” don’t forcefully REJECT those who are wallowing in racist (and worse – like fascist) beliefs.  Unfortunately, all the evidence suggests our president is one of those people – he’s just trying to make it look as if he’s not while throwing “dog whistles” to his “base.”  I’ve said this before: David Duke was correct when he told Trump “we elected you.”

I have to wonder how Trump reacted when he saw one of the leaders of the “Tiki Torch” march in Charlottesville blast him for not being racist enough.  He suggested that, for him, he’s looking for a president who’s daughter wouldn’t be allowed to marry a “Jewish bastard” – which were the exact words he used to describe Jared Kushner – Trump’s son in law.  What is undeniable about Trump is his racist history and his willingness to “gin up” the so-called “alt right” – and, subsequent to Charlottesville refuse to condemn any “moral equivalency” of the Nazi’s and White Supremacists with those who oppose them.

So, here’s the present reality.  There’s many like myself who want the “Dreamers” to have a “pathway to citizenship” and want the threat of deportation PERMANENTLY removed from their lives.  However, while this debate rages in Washington DC, along with “tax reform” and “health reform”  (obviously, I DON’T trust republicans with any of those issues) our environment is being bludgeoned, our public institutions – including public education – are being undermined by people purposely put in place to destroy them (in the words of Steve Bannon: “deconstruct the administrative state), and who knows what else Trump’s “lackey’s” are doing.

There’s ample evidence that many who are “surrogates” to Trump have a unconscionable  willingness to perpetrate Trump’s LIES – for example, his press secretaries – first Sean Spicer and now Sarah Sanders – have shown a willingness to ruin their own futures by repeatedly LYING to the American people from the press secretary’s “lectern.”  I’m sure many Trump supporters admire Ms Sanders willingness to be a feisty spokesperson for Trump, but the reality is that the history books are watching.  The LYING from Trump and his “people” is well beyond ANYTHING I’ve ever seen and it’s created a total lack of trust with MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of Americans.  In my view, it’s the MAIN reason Trump is so unpopular.  I’ll say it once more:  While the media is focused on the Dreamers, the “tax reform,” and I’ll add Russia and North Korea, watch what’s going on behind the scenes.  That’s the “stuff” that could make it EXTREMELY difficult to reverse the DAMAGE being done by Trump’s surrogates while no one’s watching.