So Much for the First Amendment

I grew up reading the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  In its earliest incarnation, The Gazette, it was the first newspaper west of the Allegheny Mountains.

The Alleghenies in the 19th Century

 In 1786, the Gazette published its leadoff article - the then-newly-adopted Constitution of the United States.  To me, that says a lot.  I think such a history is part of why politics in Western Pennsylvania have always been essentially progressive.

For that reason and another I'm about to offer, don't be misled  by the events of this past Tuesday.  At a rally at a Royal Dutch Shell petrochemical plant in Beaver County, what looked like a Trump-supporting crowd turned out not necessarily to be that.  The gathering, quite large, was so in part because union members had been instructed  to stand in the giant hall waiting for Trump to speak, or to take the day off without pay.  Here's a look at the actual memo.

According to the PG, a number of union leaders said they weren't consulted about the arrangement.  That's understandable, considering one of the talking points  preparing workers for the event read:

No yelling, shouting, protesting or anything viewed as resistance will be tolerated ...

Yelling and shouting I understand opposing, if only in an attempt to preserve courtesy.  But Mr. Trump's ego should not be pampered with First Amendment protection.  That cornerstone of our democracy provides citizens the right:

peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances

Sounds to me that makes it okay to protest  ...

It's a Steal

The United States tried to buy Greenland in 1946, for a paltry $100,000,000.00 (one hundred million).  Today, that would amount to about $1.3 billion, after correcting for inflation,

Still seems like a steal to me, if the Danes relent ..😉

Hiring an Aide

As our population ages, and supportive communities continue to disappear, a new industry seeks to fill the void.

Home health care does more than offer needed services.  It makes money beyond the dreams of avarice for some who administer it.  For example, one online service claims to oversee more than 2200 caregivers in Delaware County, PA.  The average hourly wage for these individuals, almost all women, is $14.50.  Yet an invoice for about 30 hours effort by one of these folks totaled nearly $600.00.  Of that, 20% was simply a processing fee, charged by the business entity in question.  We're talking close to $100.00.  That's some fee.

Most folks who do this kind of work - the real, certainly stressful,, sometimes gritty work of caring for those with physical, cognitive, and emotional disabilities - are independent contractors.  That means that whomever employs them is liable for payroll and taxes, as much as if the employer was U S Steel or Google.  Many families rely on online services to do such bookkeeping.  Therein lies the problem, and the source for fees like the one noted above.  What makes these umbrella outfits seem even more greedy is this - there's not even paper involved.  Nothing is printed or mailed.  Taxes for home health aides most frequently are filed electronically, with format, forms, and user interface supplied by the governmental agency in question.

Nice work if you can get it, at least as far as the administering entity is concerned ...

Megalomania Unbounded

The very stable genius who believes he and he alone knows what's needed to govern the United States has branched out.  Now he's trying to run other countries as well.

This morning Mr. Trump tweeted that he felt Israel should deny entry to two of The Squad - Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.  Put aside that it's long-standing policy that any member of our Federal legislature can visit Israel at any time, for any reason, with no questions asked, and without special requirements.  Put aside that this policy has, until today, been applied even to those who have disagreements with Tel Aviv.

That leaves only one possible conclusion.  By his actions this morning, Benjamin Netanyahu  the Israeli Prime Minister, is helping supply race baiting red meat to the Trump base.

Even The Jerusalem Post sees it that way ...

The Man Is Pond Scum

Rep. Steve King (R - IA) should resign.

I Hate It When I'm Right

Give me your tired, your poor who can stand on their own two feet and will not become a public charge ...

Thus spake, not Zarthustra but rather Ken Cuccinelli, centerpiece of yesterday's post.  In that, I looked at his influence on immigration policy with more than a skosh of sarcasm.

Turns out that my suggesting that he and the Trump Administration want to re-write The New Colossus was prescient.  The first sentence above is an exact quote from Cuccinelli .

Where Have You Gone, Emma Lazarus?

So much for Send me your tired, your poor ...  Under the Newspeak ubiquitous in the Trump Administration, The New Colossus really meant to say Send me your tired, your self-sustaining ...

Ken Cuccinelli , Acting Director (is there any other kind in Trump-world?) of Citizenship and Immigration Services, is a self-identified climate change denier.  In recent years, this paragon of enlightenment has tried to:

• prohibit undocumented immigrants from attending universities
• repeal birthright citizenship
• force employees to speak only English on the job

Any of these could have been used against members of my family  Note, however, that in the case of Grandfather Joseph Petrovsky, the country and its economy would have suffered.  Grandpa Joseph was made a foreman in the Edgar Thompson Works of U.S. Steel , the image of which acts as page header for every post ion this blog.  He was offered the job because he spoke five eastern- and central-European languages, and could, therefore, be relied upon to keep work crews functioning smoothly..

Today, Cuccinelli announced a significant change in immigration policy in the United States.  He stated that, unless an individual is determined to be self-sustaining, that is:

• has a regular income
• does not use any form of public assistance (e.g., SNAP or LiHEAP)

 he or she, unless they're extraordinarily wealthy, will be denied a green card, that is, permanent resident alien status.

Despite being white, well-educated,  and non-Hispanic, I'd have been denied.