Beltway Insider: Trump/Immigration, Iran, Abortion Debate, Jeff Koons, Icons Pass

President Donald Trump announced his plan to reform the current immigration system calling for a merit-based system which would build on his efforts to end the illegal pipeline that currently operates in through the southern border states.

According to Gallup, President Trump's job approval, which was tracked for the month of March ending on April 9, 2019 increased six percentage points to 45% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness as President decreased by six percentage points to 51%. Ratings are calculated monthly.

Trump Announces Immigration Overhaul

President Donald Trump announced this week his plan reform the broken immigration system, moving away from random and family based entry, to a merit based program which carefully vets potential immigrants ensuring America is receiving a potential citizen of integrity.

"It is time to begin moving towards a merit-based immigration system—one that admits people who are skilled, who want to work, who will contribute to our society, and who will love and respect our country," President Trump said when unveiling his plan.


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Trump is not the only president to see the need for immigration reform and he is not the only president to face a potential border crisis. Over the past three decades Presidents have wrestled with the humanitarian plight and the legality. Moved by the dangerous, difficult and horrific conditions that many immigrants face as they attempt illegal entry, including sexual assault, physical abuse and murder not to mention the exorbitant costs of human trafficking, lawmakers, even those who appear unfeeling are at times at a loss.  

In his November 20, 2014 speech on immigration, U.S. President Obama summarized the need for revision to immigration laws and procedures.

"Today, our immigration system is broken, and everybody knows it. Families who enter our country the right way and play by the rules watch others flout the rules. Business owners who offer their workers good wages benefits see the competition exploit undocumented immigrants by paying them far less. All of us take offense to anyone who reaps the rewards of living in America without taking on the responsibilities of living in America. And undocumented immigrants who desperately want to embrace those responsibilities see little option but to remain in the shadows, or risk their families being torn apart." Wikipedia reported from the November 20, 2014 Speech on Migration as a Travel Business.

This speech introduced deferred action which allowed 45% of illegal immigrant to legally stay in the United States. This action is not the first of its kind.

"The largest prior deferral action, in 1990, during the administration of President George H.W. Bush, affected 40% of undocumented immigrants then. Up to 3.7 million undocumented parents of individuals who are U.S. citizens, or who have been legal permanent residents in the country for at least five years, are eligible for the new deferrals, as are about 300,000 immigrants who arrived as children before January 2010," Wikipedia states sourcing Obama, Daring Congress, Acts to Overhaul Immigration". New York Times. 2014-11-20. Retrieved 2014-11-21.


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Trump, as President's before him, has devised a plan and with little to lose, he is moving forward with implementation. Presidents before him have approached the problem with compassion for the plight of the immigrant, Trump is moving forward with his focus on eliminating as much scourge as possible.

The Border Wall, which many have decried as useless is already proving valuable. Most Americans have little knowledge to the immigration pipeline that essentially allows immigrants to cross freely with little hindrance into the United States.  

Highlights From Trump's Merit Based Plan

BORDER SECURITY AND MERIT-BASED REFORM: President Donald J. Trump is proposing a pro-American, pro-immigrant, and pro-worker approach to immigration by fully securing the border and moving our outdated legal immigration system to a competitive, merit-based system.

SECURING THE BORDER FIRST: Full border security is the bedrock of a functioning immigration system and it must come first.

PRIORITIZING MERIT OVER CHANCE: The President's proposal will put our country's interests first by moving to a merit-based immigration system that protects American workers.

America an Immigrant Nation

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

The New Colossus, Emma Lazarus

 

These words echoed through history, as immigrant filled the eastern cities. Ellis Island, the processing center for more than 12 million immigrants who looked to America for a better life, built cities, worked to build dreams, to lead and not leave behind. Is this our foundation? Our America?

History is filled with examples of need, America needs to become a nation who provides a hand up and not a hand out.

Iran Escalation Hype

As warships stream toward the Middle East, tensions that appear to be escalating have been met with clear verbiage from moderate cleric Iranian President Hassan Rouhani who has stated we do not want a war with the United States.

President Trump has ordered all non-essential employees to leave the Iranian Embassy. No other nation has issued a similar warnings to its embassy employees. The moderate escalation has been scaled back as US allies are not matching the President's lead.

Alabama Abortion Law Sparks Public Debate Again

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed into law this week the strictest Abortion Law on record making it a crime for any physician to perform the procedure after the detection of a heart beat which is usually at six weeks.

The law, which is unconstitutional and unenforceable, does not have the support of leading Republicans including President Trump or former Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney.

The law make no allowance for rape or incest, which translates to forcing a female, who may very well be an adolescent, to carry the child to term of a violent predator.

The abortion debate is not new since the 1973 landmark Roe vs. Wade decision, the nearly 50 years ago, gave women everywhere freedom to dictate their own reproductive medical care.


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Roe vs. Wade,  "was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides a fundamental "right to privacy" that protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose whether or not to have an abortion."

This law, signed by the aging governor, violates the same clause as well as the rights to privacy.

Those who stand on the sacredness of life explaining life begins at a heartbeat and while many may have personal opinions that may or may not agree with these statements, the fact remains as equal citizens in these United States, under the umbrella of the constitution, women should not be subjected to laws that expressly forbid them the liberties to make their own medical decisions.

Additionally as the Religious Right and Alt-Right groups, will surely get behind this and claim to know God's Law, I say the Bible is very clear, "Choose today whom you'll serve." (Joshua 24:15) in the Old Testament and the New Testament, every miracle without exception begins with a choice, "Pick up your mat and walk," ( John 5:1-18).

Christ says to the man with the withered hand, "Stretch out your hand" ( Matthew 12:13) (some may not be aware the gentleman was born with a deformity and stretching out his hand bordered on mockery) and of course who can deny the Apostle Peter's trepidation when Christ bid him to "Come" and walk on the water. (Matthew 14:22-33).

Additionally, as we all know Christ came to set the captive free and I add, not to enslave him to false doctrine, skewed thinking or personal power trips.

Now for those who really have no desire to hear the religious debate or the protecting women's rights let's simply look at the record for protection of newborn laws, toddler, early childhood development and preschool programs in the states that are effectively segregate health care laws.

Where does your state stand on newborn drop off without investigation or prosecution? Can a mother leave her newborn at designated sites without fear of repercussion? What are child abuse protection laws?

How many children have been murdered  by parents who have been visited by state workers? What is the state's record of services, state and local for pre-natal and post delivery? What are the laws on early newborn development assistance, medical care, WIC programs, financial assistance, pre-school day care, pre-school lunches.  What are the laws on the death penalty?

Finally, the final truth, no person, or lawmaker, male or female, should have the right to dictate to any adult the course of medical care they choose. We allow death with dignity laws we should also allow life with dignity laws. It is not the right of any person to determine any person's choices. As every women has the right to her own choices and the rights to enact them privately.

Of course the simplest way to rescind the Alabama Abortion law is to vote the current governor out of office and elect a politician with opinions closer to the constituents of the state.

Jeff Koons and his Silver Rabbit

With the bang of the gavel the contemporary sculpture artist Jeff Koons became the highest earning living artist with the sale of his Stainless Steel "bunny" which sold for a recording breaking $91 million dollars, during the recent Christie's Contemporary Art auction.


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The piece, created in 1986, was originally purchased by publishing magnet S.I. Newhouse for a rumored $1 million, and remained part of his envious collection until recently when it was announced that several pieces of the vast collection would be put up for auction.  

The proud new owner is Robert Mnuchin, the father of Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin.

Doris Day, I.M. Pei, Herman Wouk 

The world of Fine Arts, literature and architecture lost three legends this week as time took actress and singer Doris Day, the iconic architect I.M. Pei and literature great Herman Wouk. Each passed from age related complications.

I.M. Pei

The most famous works of Architect I.M. Pei, 102, include the Louvre Pyramid on the Louvre Museum concourse in Paris, France, The Creative Artists Agency building in Century City, California,  and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. In all he designed more than a dozen of the world's most famous museums, defining skyscrapers in cities worldwide, working in thirty-one states and thirty-one countries.

Herman Wouk

Literature great Herman Wouk, who many may only remember for his famous war saga, The Winds of War, which at 814 pages became a popular mini-series. This international bestseller was followed by War and Remembrance, which again had american glued to the television.

Often called the king of the historical novel, the Pulitzer prize winning Wouk, who was also Jewish, introduced readers to the Judaism, through his work. Wouk was 103 and according to his agent writing until the day he passed away.

Doris Day

Doris Day, once the highest grossing actress in Hollywood also passed away this week. She was 97. Often cast as the naive, innocent opposite the more sophisticated worldly man she was part of a transitioning Hollywood from the Golden Era to what is known as Modern Hollywood.

One her most memorable films, Pillow Talk, who she starred opposite Rock Hudson, is considered a classic. After his death on 1985 of AIDS, Ms. Day was quoted as saying she didn't know he was gay.

With 98 total credits to her name, Ms.Day was multi talented and successful. She also endured heartache, married four times, she had one son, Terry Melcher, a record producer, who became the fascination of Charles Manson, died of Cancer at 62.

Ms. Day was a long time supporter of animal rights, a cause she championed after working on the set of on set of the Alfred Hitchcock classic, "The Man Who Knew Too Much," and witnessed the treatment of "extra" animals.

For more information on President Donald Trump: www.whitehouse.gov

Sources: Whitehouse.gov, Wikipedia.com

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