I spent the last third of my working life teaching sixth graders in a Middle School which was filled with a wonderfully diverse group of students, with so many of them leaving a lasting impression on what’s left of my memory – along with their loving parents. By the time I retired a significant proportion of the students in my classroom were of Latino ancestry and I’ve always wondered how many of them are now “Dreamers.” During my lifetime I’ve learned what beautiful people those “immigrating” to America from Mexico, Central America, and South America are. (Actually, I had WONDERFUL students from MANY places around the world, but thanks to our so-called president, tonight, my thoughts are with those whose ancestry is Hispanic.) This is why, almost every day – because I can’t help paying attention to our government and its actions – my heart feels pierced because, unfortunately, many of my former students are impacted by individual 1’s RACIST actions.

If you watch Fox “news” you might believe the MURDERS in El Paso last week had no connection to individual 1 – virtually EVERYONE else KNOWS the “manifesto” published just minutes before the murder by the KILLER – a document that COULD have come from the mouth of our so-called president – would indicate otherwise. And, yesterday, individual 1 proved that he not only would take no responsibility for the MURDERS but that he also had absolutely, in the words of one of the people in the hospital he visited, “no empathy.” (Today, it was reported the KILLER told authorities he was trying to KILL Mexicans! That should erase the doubts of even the Fox viewers)

Well, individual 1’s surrogates were smart enough to block the so-called “liberal media” from following him into the hospital, but they failed to understand even my former sixth graders have “smart phones” with incredible video capacity. So, while our so-called president was bloviating to hospital staff – because NOT ONE of the living victims of the shooting agreed to allow him to visit them – NOT ONE – he was caught on a private video recording BRAGGING (LYING – what else is new) about the size of his audience in the rally he held in El Paso several months ago AND LYING about the size of Beto O’Rourke’s crowd in a competing rally on the same night. Saying O’Rourke’s crowd numbered around 400 (When, at the time, it was estimated to be between 10,000 and 15,000) while saying his own crowd was “huge” (My term).

My point is, individual 1 wasn’t thanking the hospital workers who’ve likely been working incredibly extended hours for the past week, he wasn’t asking them if there was anything they needed, he wasn’t making it clear that his mind was on the victims and the workers – but, as usual he PROVED the only thing on his mind, as ALWAYS, is him. No matter the circumstances. Worst yet, while he was BRAGGING about the crowd (that didn’t resemble what he suggested it was) in a hospital committed to SERVING the Latino community his ICE surrogates were committing heinous RAIDS in food processing plants in Mississippi, hauling 680 hard working Latino’s, many who are “documented” (not that that would make any difference to me – it’s unbelievable this happened, especially at this point in time – but, you have to give individual 1 credit, he’s got an “all time” mean streak) into holding cells causing them to face the possibility of deportation. (Not ONE of the employers was arrested)

A quick aside: Anyone who’s been paying attention to what has been going on since individual 1 LIED while taking the oath of office KNOWS he’s been employing UNDOCUMENTED workers for many, many years – some have said they’ve been working for him for at least 15 – 20 years. Maybe this is why NONE of the employers faced any arrest – just the HARD WORKING workers – and, if you’ve been around Hispanic workers you know it’s hard to find anyone who works as hard and is as loyal to their employer as them. Just sayin…………………..

Thank God for the “fifth estate.” Many of us, including me, forget that not ALL people who live in the South support the inhumane policies of individual 1 and reporters in Mississippi not only put the cameras on many of those adults incarcerated by ICE but, also, they put the cameras on their children who were left to wonder why their parents weren’t picking them up from the first day of school. And, I can tell you, MANY of the BEST students in those schools are certainly the Hispanic children who were sitting on the school’s steps in tears wondering if they were going to go home to parents last night. This all is making me sick to my stomach thinking about it – and, make no mistake – it’s a reflection on ALL Americans!

Furthermore, I can tell you some of the most wonderful parents I ever dealt with in my career as a teacher were the HARD WORKING parents of many of the Latino students. One of the most memorable days of each school year was the day the Latino Moms would provide true “Mexican” food for each teacher to enjoy during their prep time. I’m saying all this because I’m just getting to the point where I can’t stand what is being done to this nation by individual 1. The RACISM has always “been there” – but, at least in my memory, never even close to this OVERT. and the push to PUBLICLY arrest and deport – good, hard working Latino’s – apparently as a way to spread FEAR in the Latino community (over 300 of those detained yesterday were released today – apparently because they were “documented”) and to cause others considering fleeing the violence and poverty in their own countries from coming to America.

Individual 1 is writing what will be one of the DARKEST periods in American history and it’s up to “we the people” to make sure this “chapter” lasts for only 4 years. One thing he’s doing is educating Americans as to what type of personality makes up a despot. As I’m watching him, it’s apparent he’s learned many lessons from people like Vladimir Putin, Rodrigo Roa Duterte of the Philippines, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey – three of the worst dictators around the globe and Kim Jong un – maybe the worst. Individual 1 has managed to commandeer the Justice Department and soon, it appears, he’ll have a sycophant in charge of the intelligence community. Plus he’s labeled the “media” the “enemy of the people” – right in line with the aforementioned thugs – although in their instance they simply have unfriendly reporters “disappeared” – or, in Putin’s case POISONED or “mysteriously” falling out windows of Russian skyscrapers. I forgot to mention MBS (Mohammad bin Salmon) who has unfriendly reporters cut up into pieces with his personal BONE SAW! Yikes!!!

Individual 1 wants the “liberal media” to cow-tow to everything he does – otherwise the attacks calling the media “The enemy of the people” will continue endlessly. To me, that’s not a huge issue NOW, but if “we the people” fail to “impeach” him at the ballot box in 2020 it becomes a HUGE problem. Personally, I feel the “liberal media” has helped to “normalize” our so-called president because they are stuck in the “both sides” way of looking at virtually every issue. To me, there’s NOT “both sides” to RACISM. There’s NOT “both sides” to siding with Putin. Call it what it is! There’s NOT “both sides” to the issue of “White supremacy” – it’s simply an unacceptable philosophy – unless you want to live in a fascist state that resembles the apartheid government of South Africa before Nelson Mandela.

Pathological LYING is NOT a “both sides” issue. It needs to be called out for what it is – every day. When you have a so-called president who’s a PATHOLOGICAL LIAR, that’s a serious issue and it needs to be explained as LYING every time it happens. Individual 1 is the greatest threat to this nation in my lifetime. Sadly, the republican party has become the party of individual 1 and, hopefully, those who’ve “gone along to get along” will face the wrath of the voters in 2020. It’s true there’s a swath of America which supports this deplorable man but it’s up to the “rest of – we the people” to vote out as many as possible in the next election. Winning the Senate is, in my view, as important as voting individual 1 out of office. Mitch McConnell has referred to himself as “The grim reaper.” OMG! This will be a critical election. The DARK chapter in our history I referred to above could get extremely DARK if individual 1 is re-elected. It’s “all hands on deck” to end this national nightmare!

When I think about what must be going through the minds of my former students who are “Dreamers,” or maybe more significantly those who are “undocumented,” I actually start getting angry. How could this be happening in this nation I’ve grown to love over my 72 years living here? Over the years I’ve learned to be thankful to live in a nation which is defined as the “melting pot.” I grew up learning that “Bring your tired, your hungry” was like a mission statement for our nation. It’s almost like the people who support individual 1 don’t consider themselves immigrants.

The reality is we’re ALL immigrants. The FACT that my ancestors – on my father’s side – immigrated in the 1600’s, to me, doesn’t make me more of an American than the “Dreamers” or other students who came through my classroom who were/are part of families who recently immigrated to this nation. In fact, it appeared to me, many of those who immigrated recently (and, this includes kids from Russia and other Eastern European countries) have MORE of an appreciation for being here than those students (and adults) with nothing to FEAR from individual 1. Just sayin………………..

Up until individual 1 took office it was really easy to just take for granted many of the issues I mentioned above – thinking they’re “etched in stone.” The idea of a “White Nationalist” in the “White House” just didn’t seem possible to me. But, when I look back, I can clearly see the propaganda machine that’s been at work since the days of Reagan. And, ironically, that “machine” in now working in concert with the cyber criminals operating out of Russia. Make no mistake (and Mueller confirmed this) the Russians are at it “as we speak” and fully intend to interfere in the upcoming election. And, you’d have to be – well – STUPID – to fail to understand their motives.

Just in case – a quick explanation: They, first and foremost want to see DIVISION among “we the people.” One way of doing that is “ginning” up the RACIST sentiments of individual 1’s supporters – and, trust me, he’ll do whatever it takes to get support from anyone he can. Their second goal is to keep individual 1 in office – simply because he makes it easy for them to accomplish goal number one. On top of that – there’s got to be some kind of symbiotic relationship between Putin and our so-called president because individual 1 clearly is doing Putin’s “bidding” as he helps to undermine NATO – one of Putin’s main world wide objectives.

I’m presently reading “Putin’s World” by Angela Stent, a professor of government and foreign service at Georgetown University and an expert on Eurasian, Russian, and Eastern European studies – it’s NOT a political book – it’s informative. The book confirms my suspicions – which I’ve shared here many times – that Putin is attempting to recreate the “former Soviet Union.” To accomplish that he needs the help of someone like individual 1. Whether individual 1 is a “witting or unwitting” agent of the Russians, to me, is irrelevant. He’s doing their bidding. And, in the process he’s attempting to push the White Nationalist agenda in America. And, make no mistake, Putin shares that philosophy and is pushing it as far into Europe as he can. If “we the people” don’t realize what is happening, and SOON, our government will be unrecognizable!

Final Thought: The “battle lines” in what is a WAR for the heart and soul of America should be the FIGHT to defend the “Dreamers” and the other people who want to immigrate to this nation to afford their families opportunity – what our country has been built on. For heaven’s sake, individual 1 is married to an immigrant (for that matter, he’s a second generation immigrant) and he brought his wife’s parents here using the same “chain migration” he purports to end. He employs undocumented workers on the one hand and is ordering his surrogates to round them up on the other. And, all of this CRAP is tearing this nation apart at the seems – exactly what Vladimir Putin wanted when he ordered his forces in 2015 to focus their “active measures” in a way to either get individual 1 elected or to undermine Hillary Clinton. Individual 1’s complicity toward Putin, I’m sure, has him “laughing all the way to the bank.” And, you have to believe he does view individual 1 as nothing more than a “useful idiot.”