The Eleventh Reagan Administration
by C.A. Matthews
My predictive skills are uncanny when it comes to what politicians will do next. Sometimes I even amaze myself. I'm almost never surprised by what they say or do. What's my secret?
It's simple. I read a lot, and I make note of a politician's past behaviors and stands on issues. Nine times out of ten, they'll do the same in a similar situation. The tenth time? Well, they may do something a little bit different, but rarely will they do anything that's the complete opposite of what they did before.
For instance, I could tell you that Joe Biden wasn't going to do a darn thing to help immigrants get out of for-profit detention centers or listen to the cries of Black Lives Matter activists or work to defund the police. How did I know all this for a fact?
Think about it. Do you recall the bill that Biden had a hand in passing through Congress that he likes to brag about the most? If you said the "Biden Crime Law" of 1994 then you're right. He loves locking up people, particularly poor people of color. And his vocal anti-desegregation stance in the 1970s where Biden said he didn't want his children going to integrated schools demonstrates he isn't interested in doing anything to improve the lives of African-Americans.
The strongest thread that winds throughout the actions of Presidents Reagan through Biden is their enthusiastic support of the status quo, the oligarchy, the billionaires. Every move they make (or don't make) keeps the money flowing upwards into the coffers of the billionaires. It never "trickles down." Regulations are relaxed or eliminated altogether that cut into corporate profits. These presidents have each exited high office with much more money in their bank accounts than they had before they entered .
There's no mistake. A president only makes $ 400,000 a year, and yet Obama bought a mansion worth $11.75 million on Martha's Vineyard immediately upon leaving Washington. It's pretty obvious that doing as you're told by your rich donors while in the White House pays well.
I know what's bothering some of you. You're thinking: Why do you say these presidents are all like Reagan when some of them are Democrats? How can you say they're more alike than they are different when they have different party memberships?
To find my answer to these questions, read the opening paragraphs of this article again. I'm "color blind" in the fact that I don't care what party or political faction an elected politician claims to belong to. I simply observe their behavior and make note of it and then compare their actions with other recent presidents. From what I've observed, political party affiliation makes little difference in how a politician may act.
Don't believe me? Two names prove my point: Manchin and Sinema.
Are either of these senators "Democrats" if they thwart
every bill their party attempts to pass? How does their supposed
party alliance affect their behaviors? It doesn't. They're following orders from the oligarchs to maintain the status quo.
Note what Biden does in the coming months and then do some reading about the past "Reagans" and make note of their actions. Contrast and compare. Can you make some predictions of what Biden will do next?
The duopoly of the United States of America makes things both easier and harder to understand when it comes to our presidents' behaviors. It's easy because our two so-called "major" political parties are basically one and the same. They both work hard to increase and protect the wealth of the 1%, the Wall Street mavens, and the Military-Industrial Complex.
It's harder to understand because by allowing the banksters, billionaires, and warmongers to run our country, we're endangering the entire world. We are forever being drawn into military conflicts and potentially nuclear warfare. The US military is the single most polluting agency on the planet. The rising temperatures, rising ocean levels and melting tundra, releasing methane into the atmosphere further warming the planet, will eventually cause mass extinctions and destroy all life.
Why would any sane human being risk nuclear war and exacerbate the climate emergency? I find it impossible to understand. Profits alone can't explain an entire civilization's suicide, can it?
We must extract ourselves out of this infernal Möbius loop before it's too late for the planet and humankind. We can't survive another Reagan administration.
Related articles:
https://www.dailyposter.com/biden-reversal-gives-wall-street-a-big-win/
https://www.directleft.com/p/joe-biden-praises-mitch-mcconnell
https://popularresistance.org/on-the-biden-plantation/
https://www.thoughtco.com/presidential-salaries-through-the-years-3368133
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violent_Crime_Control_and_Law_Enforcement_Act
https://scheerpost.com/2021/09/15/biden-listen-to-the-radicals-or-risk-failure/
Should Biden by primaried by the left? https://youtu.be/v2pCCuw8I4c
***
The hospital industry wants you to believe that Covid-19 is the reason for the so-called ‘nursing shortage.' But health care workers who've been fighting for safe staffing for decades know the real reason: Unfettered greed.
The New York Times just released a powerful video that shares the stories of nurses on the frontlines and the grave consequences of hospitals placing profits before people.
The hospital industry has been neglecting nurses and deliberately short-staffing hospitals for years. Now, the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed these practices and the nurse staffing crisis they have created. As registered nurses face increasingly unsafe working conditions, moral distress, and injury, many are leaving the bedside.
There is still time to reverse this crisis and ensure nurses have the protections and dignity they deserve. We are calling on Congress and the Biden administration to adopt federal policies that value the vital work of direct patient care RNs and that ensure employers meet their legal obligations to provide safe and healthy workplaces.
We need your help to inform as many people as possible about this serious issue. Will you share this powerful video and join us in the fight for safe staffing?
Even if you’re not a nurse or other frontline health care worker, you can still play a vital role in helping spread awareness of this serious issue.
Thank you for standing with us,
Michelle Mahon, RN
Assistant Director of Nursing Practice
National Nurses United
***
Last week marked one year since Joe Biden was sworn in to become the 46th president of the United States.
After four years of devastating policies under Trump, Joe Biden and his administration faced the extremely difficult task of building a fair, functional, and humane immigration system.
In the year since, the Biden Administration has made progress on implementing immigration policies that have extended protection to communities that need them the most, but much remains undone.
Some of the notable actions President Biden carried out early included a series of executive orders to end the Muslim and African bans, fully reinstate DACA and end the construction of Trump's wasteful and offensive border wall. He also ended the “Public Charge'' rule that served as a wealth test used by the previous administration to punish immigrants, and created a task force to reunite children with their parents that were separated under the Trump Administration.
However, on bigger items such as providing a path to citizenship for undocumented workers, restoring the asylum system, creating new paths for legal immigration, and fully protecting Dreamers, TPS holders, and other essential workers, the President has failed to live up to his promises.
Our new report recaps the Biden Administration’s first year and looks to the future with an in-depth examination at what still needs to be done.
The report covers topics such as DACA, TPS, COVID-19, the Remain in Mexico (MPP) policy, Title 42, the disproportionately inhumane treatment of Black migrants, legislation, right wing and GOP developments, and more.  |
So as we enter the second year of the Biden Administration, the task on immigration is clear: the President and his team need to do more. Our report carefully outlines what has been done and what policies still need to be implemented.
The Biden Administration needs to review the unfulfilled promises and rethink its strategy on how to deliver. Effort is no longer enough as immigrants need real results.
Immigrants dedicate their lives to our country in many ways. Nothing has shown that more than the COVID-19 pandemic as essential workers continue to show up every single day to keep our country going during these turbulent times. Additionally, many immigrant communities were key organizers in Joe Biden’s campaign.
It is time to find a way to deliver.
Support our work to hold the Biden Administration accountable for the promises they made on immigration and ensure they build a fair and humane immigration system by donating to our organization today.
In solidarity,
Juana
***
Three years ago Trump & co began the horrific and racist Remain in Mexico program. Since then it’s forced 67,000 vulnerable children and families to wait in constant peril in danger.
There was never supposed to be a three-year anniversary of Remain in Mexico.
One person has a critical role in ending it. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas has a track record of leading with compassion, implementing DACA, and even receiving an award from immigrant groups for his work on refugee rights. On the anniversary of this horrific policy's beginning, let’s call on him to live up to this legacy:
Can you add your name to help end the racist Remain in Mexico program today on the anniversary of this cruelty?
As a child of refugees himself, Secretary Mayorkas benefited from having a functional process to accessing safety in the U.S. Right
now, Mayorkas has the opportunity to provide the same for thousands of
other families and show that we are still a country where children and
families can find the refuge they deserve.
Secretary Mayorkas has the opportunity to make a clear statement that
families seeking safety deserve better. On the anniversary of the start
of the Remain in Mexico policy, we must demand Secretary Mayorkas fulfill the promises made to families just like his:
We remain hopeful that the Biden Administration will keep its promise to welcome people who have come to our border seeking safety with dignity, and we are committed to holding them accountable until we get there. A critical part of fulfilling this promise is overturning Remain in Mexico now.
Thanks for your continued commitment,
Erin Mazursky | Organizing Director
Families Belong Together
