Thursday, March 14, 2024

Christian Nationalism Threatens Democracy

According to a study released last month by the Public Religion Research Institute; more than a third of Texans agree with the following five statements: The U.S. government should declare America a Christian nation. U.S. laws should be based on Christian values. If the U.S. moves away from our Christian foundations, we will not have a country anymore. Being Christian is an important part of being truly American.

God has called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society. Such agreement indicates what is known as Christian nationalism. Worse yet Texas is only slightly above the national average. In Louisiana 46% agree with those statements while in Mississippi 50% agree.

Americans under 50 years of age or who have earned a bachelors degree or higher are far less likely to be Christian nationalists. Gender isn’t an indicator, as men and women are equally likely to be Christian nationalists. The percentage of Christian nationalists among Whites, Hispanics, and Blacks are nearly the same. The big indicator is the variant of Christianity someone belongs to, two thirds of members of evangelical Protestant congregations are Christian nationalists as opposed to about a third for Catholic and mainline Protestant congregations. The biggest concentration of Christian nationalists is among the followers of prosperity gospel purveyors such as Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, Joyce Meyer, John Hagee, T. D. Jakes, and Paula White.

The higher the percentage of Christian nationalists in a given state the more likely that state is to vote Republican and the more likely the voters there are to support Trump. That’s bad enough, what’s worse is more than a third of those folks also believe political violence may be justified. That means that should Trump lose in November, as I believe is likely, 1 in 10 Texans may very well support a violent attempt to over turn the election.

Aside from the threat of political violence perpetrated by Christian nationalists the other thing the rest of us need to worry about is their desire to base U.S. law on their distorted interpretation of the bible. They’ve already succeeded in denying many women bodily autonomy. They’re working on denying rights to the LGBTQ members of our society. The Republican candidate for governor of North Carolina, Mark Robinson, wants to go back to the days when women were denied the right to vote. Where will they stop?

As an excuse to eliminate public agencies like the Department of Education, Republicans often claim that if it isn’t in the constitution then the federal government isn’t allowed to do it. At the same time nothing in the constitution says the country is a Christian nation and in fact the reverse is true, in Article VI it says: “but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” Then to make it even more clear the First Amendment says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Either Republicans and Christian nationalists haven’t read the Constitution or they don’t understand it.

In November it is important that everyone votes to reject Christian nationalism which means voting against Republicans from top to bottom.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - March 13, 2024

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Fix Immigration Now

 Republicans hyperventilate over the number of immigrants requesting asylum their solution are rejection, building Trump’s wall, or Gov. Abbott’s barbed wire in the Rio Grande. Trump and his sycophants demonize people who are poor and have darker skin than themselves. You can be sure they’re hypocrites because those same Republicans are falling all over themselves to protect a German family who came here a decade ago and over-stayed their 90 day visa. The Romeike family claims they suffered religious persecution and their evidence is that Germany doesn’t allow home-schooling so every child must attend a public or approved private school. The Romeike’s are evangelical Christians and claim that the public school system might have an impact on the children’s family values.

Citizens of Germany, New Zealand, Hungary, Iceland, and Estonia to name just a few, all have a straightforward and legal entry path into the United States but that program specifically excludes majority non-white nations such as Mexico, China, India, and the Philippines. The Romeike’s chose not to apply for legal immigration they broke the law and flaunt it.

Those same Republicans defending the Romeike’s make so much noise about the purported open borders that the media in many Central and South American countries repeat it creating a self-fulfilling prophecy that our border with Mexico is swamped with immigrants. Republicans in Congress are unwilling to add funding to address the need for more immigration judges and staff. 

A U.S. State Department travel advisory reads: “Do not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and poor healthcare infrastructure.” Yet this past August, 60 refugees fleeing for their lives were forced back to Haiti. I wonder if they'd still be here if they were white and fleeing the horrors of a public school system they didn’t like.

 I’ve been unimpressed with Democrats’ discussion of immigration as well because they fail to discuss or do anything about the reasons that those seeking asylum want to come here so desperately that they’ll give up their homes and family ties then make a dangerous 1500 to 3000 mile journey just to request asylum here. Unlike the Romeike’s the folks streaming to our border with Mexico are actually trying to escape violence in the form of cartels and trans-national gangs.

This country bares some responsibility for the instability of so many Central and South American countries since we have interfered with their governments including sponsoring the overthrow of left wing governments in at least a dozen of them. Some such as Cuba and Nicaragua then revolted and were taken over by outright communists and are now dictatorships much like the old Soviet Union. We also provide the profits of their narcotics gangs with our failed “war on drugs” which just leads to corruption in government and violence in the community.

We should be supporting the people in their home countries with funding for education and health care. We should encourage exports and manufacturing through our trade policies. We must take the profits out of drug production and smuggling by decriminalizing most drugs so that funding for gangs dries up and they can no longer corrupt local governments.

There are millions of undocumented immigrants already here, quite a few came as young children and have grown up, gotten jobs, married and had children of their own yet we still deport them even though they often don’t speak the language of their country of origin and have no ties to it. This nation needs to provide a quick path to citizenship for all those currently here and create a system that is fair to all immigrants. 

Published in the Seguin Gazette - February 21, 2024

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Independents Uninformed but Key to Victory in November

Political researchers have found that independents and soft partisans (voters who lean Democrat or Republican) are woefully under-informed regarding Donald Trump’s criminal indictments and trials. They’ve also found that once those voters learn of the charges behind those trials they are much less likely to support his re-election. Worse in some ways, these voters don’t see Trump’s actions including those on January 6 as an attack on our democracy. In fact, those voters aren’t even clear on what a democracy is.

When doing market or political campaign research organizations use polling to learn how people feel or what they believe about a topic. In order to get a better understanding of why they feel or believe as they do they’ll hold what are called “focus groups”. In a focus group just as in polling the organization tries to select participants that fit their needs. In political polling that is usually registered voters or when an election is close what are defined as likely voters, often those who vote nearly every election. Polling organizations usually try to find a mix of genders, ages, and economic groups that is also representative of the overall population of the area they’re researching, congressional district or state for example. For a focus group the organization may choose from a narrower group in order to better understand how that group thinks and why they might vote a particular way.

In focus groups organized for Navigator Research in three swing states, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Nevada, voters who lean Republican or consider themselves independent generally were very disturbed to learn that Trump had been indicted on 91 charges over 4 criminal trials. Participants were also concerned with Trump’s claims of immunity for anything done by the president including the use of the military to murder opponents.

Even some voters who lean Republican cited Fox News as part of the problem regarding the political divide in the country, misinformation, and distrust of media. Unfortunately that has caused many voters to distrust main stream media entirely rather than find more reliable sources. It’s also frightening that the voters participating in the focus groups didn’t have a common understanding of political violence or recognize it beyond the insurrection on January 6, 2021.

The only positive point I see is that for the most part participants in the focus group and hopefully others like them were less likely to support Trump upon learning more about the indictments and criminal trials as well as his claims of total immunity.

It is important to remember that Trump lost the popular vote in both 2016 and 2020. He only won in 2016 because of a relatively small number of votes in a handful of swing states giving him the edge in the electoral college. It will only take a small number of independents and soft Republicans voting for Biden to insure that Trump never again has political power in the United States.

As a Democrat and believer in the peaceful transfer of power through free and fair elections I hold out hope that readers of this column and others will reach out to family and friends to insure that they are informed about they recognize the dangers of re-electing Trump.

Published in the Seguin Gazette February 7, 2024

Thursday, January 18, 2024

Republicans Protecting Tax Cheats

 Eighteen months ago the then Democrat controlled Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act. Since then, using funds allocated by that legislation the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) declared open season on wealthy tax cheats and so far has recovered over $480 million in overdue taxes from delinquent millionaires. Last month the IRS opened 76 new examinations into the largest partnerships in the U.S. that include hedge funds, real estate investment partnerships and large law firms.

More than 160 million Americans voluntarily pay their federal income taxes every year and generally pay what they owe. The right leaning Wall Street Journal reported that “Americans didn't pay an estimated $68 billion in taxes due on their 2021 returns—the largest shortfall ever.” Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) organized an investigation which found that nearly 1,000 Americans who make more than $1 million a year failed to file tax returns over multiple recent years, potentially owing $34 billion in taxes.

According to a 2021 White House study, the wealthiest 400 billionaire families in the US paid an average federal individual tax rate of just 8.2 percent. If you’re reading this article you likely paid around 10% of your total income in federal taxes. The really wealthy pay a lower percentage of taxes than you and I do and yet still cheat on their taxes.

During last year’s debt ceiling negotiations between the Biden administration and the now Republican controlled House; Monica de la Cruz, Chip Roy, and their cronies held the paychecks of millions of Americans hostage. In order to avoid damage to individuals and the national economy that a government shut down would cause, President Biden accepted budget reductions that include taking back billions of dollars allocated to the IRS. Those cuts will affect the ability of the IRS to continue pursuing wealthy tax cheats and modernization that was intended to reduce wait times and improve the experience tax payers have when calling the IRS for answers to questions about their incomes taxes.

The fact that supposedly budget conscious Republicans chose to target the IRS for major funding reductions when all indications are that for every $1 spent the agency will bring in an extra $2 goes to show you it isn’t really about the budget. The Republican attack on the IRS is all about protecting the wealthy tax cheats that provide campaign cash, high paying jobs for family members, and free vacations in posh resorts.

None of the billions in overdue taxes include the taxes evaded through tax shelters like owning professional sports teams or race horses, or other income re-classification tricks the super-wealthy use to game the system.

When Trump was in the White House an American earning less than $50,000 a year was more likely to be audited than someone earning $1 million a year and the percentage of mega-corporations earning billions hit an all time low. No wonder the super-wealthy want Trump back in the White House. How anyone earning less than $1 million a year can vote Republican is beyond me.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - January 17, 2024

Thursday, January 4, 2024

Biden Making US Better

 Since this is an election year let’s review some of the most important accomplishments of the Biden administration in the last year and how the American people were affected by it. 

In the area of prescription drug and health care costs; 15 million Americans now save $800/year on health insurance and insulin cost for seniors for seniors is now capped at $35 per month. Drug companies are now required to pay rebates to Medicare if they raise prices faster than inflation. Pharmaceutical companies now must allow Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, starting with the 10 costliest, most widely used drugs used to treat blood clots, cancers, arthritis, diabetes. The Biden administration successfully encouraged 42 states to expand Medicaid postpartum coverage from two months to 12, but not Texas. A record number of Americans now have health insurance and we’ve just had the strongest Obamacare enrollment ever.

Regarding the costs of living; inflation spurred by the pandemic has fallen 65% since last summer and gasoline prices are down more than $1.90 from its peak. Grocery inflation is at its lowest level in two years; egg prices are down a $1/dozen. Americans are saving billions of dollars a year due to crack downs on hidden junk fees in airline tickets, banking, investment advice, health insurance and apartment rentals.

In the area of employment and pay the Biden administration’s economic policies created over 14 million jobs, including 800,000 manufacturing jobs, while unemployment has stayed below 4% for 22 straight months. Biden supported unions and collective bargaining making him the most pro-union president in history. The economy is so good that the country set a record of 14.6 million applications to start new businesses. Wages, wealth and the share of working-age Americans with jobs are higher than before the pandemic. The US has had the fastest post-COVID economic recovery of G7 industrialized countries.

In only three years the Biden administration has made more progress on the climate crisis than any prior administration while lowering energy costs. The Inflation Reduction Act, provided for the largest investment in climate action ever by created 210,000 new clean energy jobs in 2023 alone. While there is much more to do Biden deserves credit for helping to secure a historic, international agreement at COP28 to transition away from fossil fuels, triple renewable energy globally by 2030. The administration’s fiscal and other policies spurred hundreds of billions of dollars in private sector investment in wind, solar, electric vehicles, saving families an average of $500/year on energy costs. Biden took executive action to cut emissions across the economy, including issuing standards to reduce methane pollution.

The Biden administration made higher education more affordable by approving $127 billion in debt cancellation for 3.6 million Americans, more than any President in history even in the face of Republican-led lawsuits. Biden’s SAVE plan will cut undergraduate loan payments in half and prevent student loan balances from growing due to runaway interest. Administration policies helped 700,000 people access public service loan forgiveness programs. The administration invested $7 billion in Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Biden signed Executive Orders to protect access to abortion, contraception and the right to travel across state lines to obtain care in reaction to state abortion bans that followed the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, like here in Texas. The administration strengthened privacy protections for patients and doctors.

There’s plenty more that Biden and Democrats have done in the face or Republican obstruction, just think of how much more could be accomplished if we re-elect Biden and a Democratic majority in both the House and Senate.

Published in the Seguin Gazette - January 3, 2024

Thursday, December 28, 2023

Immigrant Bashing for Votes and Bad Policy

 Florida under Gov. Ron DeSantis is showing Texas what happens when a state passes draconian immigration laws. Undocumented immigrants flee the state which then shuts down construction businesses and leaves unpicked crops in the fields. Republicans in Florida are getting mad at DeSantis for wrecking their businesses while he grandstands on his harsh immigration policies while campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination in states like Iowa.

Gov. Greg Abbott just signed S.B. 4 last week which is similarly harsh regarding undocumented immigrants sending them to jail or deporting them quickly. In a few months there will be crops that need tending, homes that need building, and repairs that need doing but not enough people to do them here in Texas just like Florida today. Of course if Texas Republicans could remember as far back as 2011 they’d know this all played out before in Georgia and Alabama leaving millions of dollars in crops rotting in fields.

Florida has a 2.8% unemployment rate, which is more than 25% lower than the 3.9% national rate, so the argument that immigrants steal jobs from citizens is easily discredited. In fact there are only 53 people looking for work for every 100 job openings in Florida. Now the Republican controlled Florida legislature is considering solving the “problem” by loosening child labor laws to allow 16 and 17 year olds to work overnight during the school year. Such regulations were originally put in place to prevent work from interfering with children’s health, safety, and education. This isn’t about doing something positive for children it’s about bailing out the legislature from its own bad policy and giving benefits to corporations. From their point of view Republicans probably think high-schoolers that work too much and end up not finishing their education are a gold mine of future voters as the lower a voter’s educational attainment the less likely they are to vote for Democrats.

20 years ago Democrats and Republicans shared similar views in that they equally believed that immigrants strengthened the country. Today that’s no longer true as Republicans candidates and media talking heads have found a receptive audience for immigrant bashing. Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign and presidency raised such bashing to new heights all while Republican legislators have fought any form of comprehensive immigration reform. Today Republicans are using the desire of President Biden to continue supporting Ukraine in protecting its borders and citizens against the Russian invasion as leverage to push further harsh measures on immigrants and asylum-seekers.

Strangely we have blowhards like Senator Ted Cruz raising a ruckus about supposed open borders under Biden, a claim that is patently untrue, but which is getting media attention in Central and South American countries thereby encouraging migrants to rush to our southern border. Cruz and his Republican colleagues are actually a major cause of the very “crisis” they’re so loudly complaining about.

Then you have Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) whose mother was a Cuban refugee who fled the island nation in 1959 when Fidel Castro took power. When Malliotakis campaigned to represent the 11th District of New York in 2022 her rhetoric consisted of attacking asylum-seekers. That's more than a little hypocritical coming from the direct offspring of someone who came here seeking political asylum.

Democrats have repeatedly tried to pass comprehensive immigration reform that is both fair and effective but their colleagues across the aisle refuse to cooperate. If Republicans really wanted to address immigration they’ve had plenty of opportunities but have chosen not to because they prefer to use it as a hammer when campaigning and fund-raising.

Published in the Seguin Gazette December 27, 2023

Thursday, December 14, 2023

Proof Republicans Lack Moral Courage

It’s astonishing to me that contrary to what Republican legislators like Senator Bryan Hughes says about his 2021 anti-abortion bill SB8, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is dead set on proving that claims that Republican passed anti-abortion laws apply even when a woman’s life, health, and future ability to have a child is at risk.

This latest episode started with Kate Cox, a 31 year old Dallas mother of two, who was delighted to learn she was pregnant with her third child then months later learned that the fetus suffers a lethal anomaly which could cause it to be born only to die within hours at best and at worst die in her uterus and a cause fatal infection that even if treated could cause to be unable to ever have another child at worst. She wants to terminate her pregnancy and while Sen. Hughes and others claim the law allows that doctors and hospitals and their lawyers say that’s not what the law says. A Travis County district judge granted a temporary restraining order allowing Mrs. Cox to terminate her nonviable pregnancy.

A.G. Paxton then sent a letter to three hospitals, threatening legal action if they allowed the abortion to be performed at their facility. Next Paxton asked the Texas Supreme Court to intervene and they have issued a stay on the temporary restraining order, meaning the existing law remains in effect so no abortion for Mrs. Cox, she’ll just have to suffer the consequences of Republican over-zealousness.

Some months ago Hughes wrote a letter to the Texas Medical Board asking for an investigation into "disturbing allegations" that patients with serious pregnancy complications were being sent home from the hospital without care. Hughes wrote "Pregnancy complications such as these should be swiftly and reasonably treated to prevent or address a medical emergency determined by the physician," asking the Texas Medical Board to issue guidance on the issue.

Paxton is the state’s lawyer and he believes that there are no conditions under which terminating a pregnancy is not a violation of Texas law. This is the same Ken Paxton who has been impeached for accepting bribes and other crimes in order to cover up his adultery and provide his mistress with a job and home in Austin. Paxton has also been indicted for violations of federal securities laws.

About half the population of Guadalupe County is represented in the Texas Senate by Dr. Donna Campbell who talks about her career as an emergency room physician and her anti-abortion stance whenever she campaigns. You’d think that a physician, a career that most of us associate with extreme compassion, would be the first to recognize that sometimes terminating a pregnancy is medically necessary. Campbell has not once made an effort to amend the state’s anti-abortion legislation to make it possible to address the complexities of pregnancy that she must know full well exists. Of course, she’s also among the majority of Senate Republicans that voted to acquit Ken Paxton in his impeachment trial even after Paxton’s former chief assistant described his efforts to encourage Paxton to step back from his dishonorable actions and dismay at having to resign and report Paxton’s behavior.

There’s a reason that maternal mortality dropped over much of the last century but has been going back up here in Texas for the last few decades. How many women will have to die, how many will have to lose their ability to have children before these Republicans who lack empathy are forced to back off even a little on their zealous application of narrow-minded law?

Published in the Seguin Gazette - December 13, 2023