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Kathleen Wintering (Nagy)

 Fred, I enjoyed the info on Flippo! Chuck Selby! That brings back memories! He did our prom didn`t he? I remember Mary Lynne`s dad saying Chuck played at his prom! Not sure if he was kidding or not! Kathy W.

John Jackson

So happy the pipe bomber has now been apprehended (and so relieved he wasn’t a Trump supporter!).  That was just a sideshow and now we can get back to the real issue – the Caravan!!!!  The fake-news mainstream media want you to believe these are just desperate people from Central America whose dysfunctional governments can’t protect them and their children from threats and hyper-violence from narco-gangs.  This may be the case for a handful, but they’re just a fig leaf for all the MS-13 members, murderers, rapists and Middle Easterners in their midst who will comprise the next wave of 9/11-style attackers!!!!

And can you believe this is all funded by Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats – such a shame!!!!

They’re now only a thousand miles away but we have to keep these people from reaching our borders and entering the country before the election because some of them are mutants/shape shifters who can self-multiply (think of the mops in Sorcerer’s Apprentice!!!!).  After they divide into a thousand replicas of themselves they will completely undermine the integrity of the midterm elections by voting illegally multiple times (and in multiple states!)  because there is just so much voter fraud – such a shame!!!!

And I’m sure you’ve seen those heart-rending images of weary mothers carrying infants/ toddlers who are too tired to walk.  But look closer at those children’s eyes – those aren’t kids, they’re Chucky dolls!!!!

So many threats to our way of life from brown and black people – we should all be very, very afraid…

David Mitchell

So, I guess the World Series wasn't holding your attention, huh John? 

James Hamilton, M. D.

John Maxwell

Michael McLeod

Here's my prescription, given what I see here today.

I'll recommend a documentary for music lovers: The Music of Strangers. 

I just re-watched it last night.

It's an inspirational doc about heroes. That's how I see these musicians. Art is one way of staying sane. The longer I write about it the more I see that. 

The documentary follows the course of Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, his effort, going back 20 years, to collaborate and travel with artists all over the world, many of whom use ancient instruments that are in danger of being forgotten -- along with the cultures that inspired them.

I'm watching it because I just interviewed one of the musicians, who'll be in Orlando next week. His name is Kayhan Kahlor. He's Iranian (but Yo Yo Ma, who is Chinese, calls him a brother because they are so close, and they both play string instruments.) Kayhan plays an ancient instrument called the kamancha, a bowed string instrument the Persians invented centuries ago. Last time he was here I saw old men in the audience hugging each other and crying. They were Iranians, remembering a country and a way of life lost to them because of horrific unrest, wars, and a repressive regime.  Kahlor himself would have understood their pain: He lost his parents and a brother when a missile blew up the home where his family lived. 

He's basically a man without a country at this point. He's been too outspoken about the repressive regime in his own country to be welcome in Iran. Because of the Trump travel ban, he no longer feels welcome in this country, either. I can't say that I blame him.

Seeing John Jackson's post made me think it might be good to say something here. However divided we may be about how things are going in terms of the immigration issue, it's always good to boil it down to individuals rather than argumentation. We can agree. We can disagree. Meanwhile so many people are suffering. We can't save them all. But we can at least always bear them in mind. 

Mary Clare Hummer (Bauer)

Thanks, John. What a great read to start off my Saturday. I appreciate your approach but deaf ears won’t analyze sarcasm any better than they do reason or truth.  And Jim, I would rather have a bleeding heart than no heart at all. 

Clare

Jeanine Eilers (Decker)

Particularly well said, Clare.  Many thanks.

James Hamilton, M. D.

The problem with a bleeding heart is that it sometimes deprives the brain of enough oxygen to arrive at logical conclusions. But that is enough sarcasm.

Conservatives are often portrayed as heartless. If I did not have a heart or care for the welfare of people of all races, creeds, backgrounds, and beliefs I would not have chosen the work that I did, the system in which I did it and the salary I received for doing it.

As for the "caravan" I question many things. Despite the fact that many governments of countries both in Central and Latin America as well as throughout the globe make life miserable for their citizens, mass migrations are not all that common. There is no doubt that congress needs to "update" our immigration laws but until then existing laws must be upheld. Many individuals and individual families have come to America legally and assimilated into our way of life. Does anyone REALLY believe that, all of the sudden, close to an important election in our country, thousands of these individuals each decided on their own, to migrate to the USA without funding and organization from outside influences? And does anyone REALLY believe that they are all upstanding people who want to come to America and help make it better? And does anyone REALLY believe that, while waving the flags of their homelands, they have America's best interest at heart? And does anyone who thinks that we should have open borders REALLY belive that that will not endanger our citizens? And does anyone REALLY think that the lure of free (to them, not to us) education, housing and medical care is not a major incentive to come here?

When our country was under oppressive British rule, we changed that with some help from other countries. That took guts! Maybe someday people in other countries under suppressive governments should follow our example. I am sure the United States would be able to assist in various ways, including sanctions and other supports.

Will those who do make it into America follow the call of President Kennedy - yes, I am quoting a Democrat - to "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."?

Sometimes, having a heart means having to include "tough love".

Jim

Daniel Cody

John the caravan is being funded by george soros - true??  Nice comments by Clare n jeanine. Was Jesus a bleeding heart or would he have stepped adide to let th Roman army kill them all?

David Mitchell

John,

I wish you would stop "sugar-coating" your opinions and tell us how you REALLY feel.

But I sort of think we agree. The more tanks and machine guns we can get lined up along that border, the more those dangerous little kids will tug at their daddy's sleeves and ask for anther big orange (drink)!

Er, sumpin' like that. 

-----------------------

But actually, didn't we set the stage for most of this back in the teens and 20's when we helped install one "puppet" goon-squad dictatorship after another to pave the way for the United Fruit Company (modern day "Chiquita") to have free reign over the countries of Honduras, Guatamala, and Nicaragua so they could make billions off the bannana trade without any regard to to human rights or public safety. And we wonder why these countries are becoming the murder capitals of the western world - where police are all corrupt and citizens have absolutely no protection under the law - whatsoever!  

Golly, I'd sure want to sit around and wait for my husband to get attacked by a hit squad outside a restaurant - RIGHT in front of some police officers, and get absolutely no help AT ALL - except for a deep axe wound in the shoulder (an actual case of one of the guys who used to work for my homebuilding friend Roger).

Who'd want to leave a "paradise" like that in order to find a better way of life.  Certainly not my own ancestors in Wales and Ireland. What a silly notion!

Linda Weiner (Bennett)

from Judicial Watch:   

Michael McLeod

Lots of misinformation about the caravan.

I'll list a few creditable sources. 

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/10/a-wave-of-misinformation-about-the-migrant-caravan-is-spreading-on-social-media/

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/amberjamieson/stop-the-caravan-conspiracies

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/24/world/americas/migrant-caravan-fake-images-news.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/five-myths-about-honduran-caravan-debunked-n922806

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/caravan-swastika-flag-fire/

ps:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_Watch

John Jackson

Not sure what happened to me last night when I wrote that previous post – something came over me and my skin and hair took on an orangish glow.  I ballooned up to almost twice my normal size except for my hands (which got really small)...

But now that I feel like I’m back to my normal bleeding heart self I’ll say that I’m not in favor of open borders and I don’t really know anyone who is.  Every rational nation wants to control its borders and monitor/limit who comes in.   I totally agree we can’t let in everyone on earth who wants to come here and I’ll freely admit I don’t know what the answer is.  But I do draw the line at taking kids (including toddlers and infants) from their parents with uncertain prospects that they’ll ever see each other again.

But since we as a nation don’t seem to able to decide how to reform our immigration policies, until we reach that agreement I propose that we follow the immigration policies we’ve had all along which include well-established procedures for vetting people who claim refugee status – in the past some have gotten in and many more were denied (including during the Obama Administration when immigration groups angrily accused him of being the “deporter in chief”).

But what really prompted my post is how Trump has manufactured this whole crisis to fire up his xenophobic base (many of whose families, like mine, hardly came over on the Mayflower).  To be sure, we still have a problem at the southern border but it’s a problem that’s gotten dramatically better, not worse, over the past 20 or so years.  According to the Border Patrol’s own statistics, since the year 2000 apprehensions at the border with Mexico have dropped by a factor of FOUR (from 1.6 million in 2000 to under 400,000 this year) with almost all of the drop occurring in the 2000-2012 period. https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2017-Dec/BP%20Total%20Apps%2C%20Mexico%2C%20OTM%20FY2000-FY2017.pdf)

So do we have a problem – yes.  But “our failed immigration policies” have led to a situation that’s  way better than it was in 2000.  And, if anything, it seems like all the tough talk has motivated more people to try to enter soon in anticipation of an even more brutal crackdown - border apprehensions, even with the child separation policy, are UP this year over 2017.

Linda, I totally grant that in a crowd of  5 or 7 thousand people there are bound to be some bad eggs and hangers-on, but if you’re going to convince me that most of them are MS-13 gang members and Middle Easterners seeking to wreak havoc here, I’m going to need a more mainstream reference than Judicial Watch, which is hardly known for its balance.  I haven't read any of Mike's links but I suspect they paint a very different picture.

Fear of immigrants (and “the other” generally) is Trump’s signature issue and the idea that Democrats would orchestrate an event that is charging up Trump’s base doesn’t ring true.  In fact, from what I can see, Republican congressional candidates are desperate to avoid talking about the tax cut, the ACA, and pre-existing conditions and they want desperately to shift the focus to  that ominous, threatening Caravan.

I know there is a substantial segment of the class (quite possibly a large majority) that thinks political subjects should be avoided and I understand that (and normally I would probably even agree).  But these are not normal times and, from time to time, I feel compelled to bring these subjects up.

Timothy Lavelle

I remember when we were young. We were so proud of our country. Remember how people back then were willing to die to break free of the Iron Curtain. Remember, during that period we were so proud that we were the nation people flocked to, ran to, as they searched for a better life. We were the best little nation ever! We bragged that we were "the melting pot" and how our strength came from our incredible mix of peoples who came here looking for a better life.

When we aged just a bit, we were justifiably confused when we studied recent history...how could a culture go from a deep love for beautiful music to marching in goose step and erecting death camps as happened in Germany. Today we here read of a mass shooting in a synagogue in Pennsylvania. How close are we, in this country, to throwing away our belief in a decent chance for all, no matter their color or origin. How close are we to letting a man excuse outrageous behavior by some citizens. 

I think the statue says "bring me your huddled masses" doesn't it? Haven't we been hugely proud of our position, as a country who could make that kind of statement? When did we get so frightened that we turned our backs on those looking for a better life.

We are not going to insult each other into changing opinions. But here is a hint for you who think of yourself as true blue patriotic conservatives. When you quote or recommend blogs of other conservative ranters without taking even the least step to verify any of the fantastic claims made, you come as someone who needs their thoughts put in order and dished up for them by someone else. Someone who isn't able to make a coherent argument. It's like "The guy down the street was abducted by aliens him and I believe him". C'mon, you wouldn't buy a water heater w/out doing a little due diligence...try checking your sources and see if they are really people you would want to be seen in public with.

David Mitchell

John,

Hear!  Hear!

And why is it we don't mention the numbers of suspicious people coming in from that other border from Canada? You know, the one that is as easy as pie to cross.

David Mitchell

Well put Tim. (and thanks for the spelling - I was never sure if it was one "F" or two.)

Oh, hell, why not throw just one more log on the fire? After all, it's a bye week for the Buckeyes anyway. Isn't that why we are all on here today anyway?

I never really understood N.A.F.T.A. (nor did I ever really understand Bill Clinton)

It seems one of the purposes was to allow "free trade" which is a good thing - right?  But how about this effect? It allows Canadian and American farmers (e.g. wheat and corn farmers) to flood the Mexican market with cheaper wheat and corn, thus wiping out the Mexican prices for their wheat and corn. Corn is the main economic agricultural crop available to the small rural farmer in Mexico, and our effort at "free trade" has gradually eroded the entire Mexican corn industry. Yes, there are other crops for them to export (Tomatoes, Avacados, Aloe, Citrus fruits, and a few others), but corn is the staple of their food industry and one of the backbones of their economy (after oil). So as we gradually see the decline and ruin of much of their corn producing farmers (in rural areas), they are left in desperate financial shape. There is little choice for survival but to cave in to the (death) threats of the drug lords. They either sell their souls and join forces, move to the impoverished outskirts of the three or four major cities and become low-end survivors, or try to get out - read; try to get to the good ole "Estados Unidos".  

If faced with these choices, which one would you make?  

(And by the way, Gracias Uncle Sam! Thanks for the big "favor" - - - as if we EVER treated those poor "backward"  Latin American countries on a level playing field )

And Tim, you are one of those voices who has repeatdly mentioned how lucky we are to be born when, where, and to whom we were. You got that right!  

We are better than this. There has to be a better way than soldiers and tanks.

David Mitchell

in other news.........

How great was it to see 82 year-old Sandy Koufax last night?

one of my all-time favorite players

Joseph D. McCarthy

And now a word, well quite a few, from our sponsors.  Jim, after a few minutes of careful thought (only 63,092 actual minutes) I propose the following response to your earlier request for thoughts about the class of 2019.

"Dave, dide you notice Merle driving his 2029 Nuclear (atomic) powered car to the reunion pre-get together.  You know he completed it as part of his third PHd.  He said it was to honor our classmate, and his wife, Melinda who was the last person in the U.S.A. to die from complications of that ancient disease Diabetes; wish she was here to see him still driving himself.  Oh, and would you believe Vasia and that last century "Ratting" that she does to her hair."

Next!!!!

Michael McLeod

Well said, John. And Tim.

James Hamilton, M. D.

Michael McLeod

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief.

Do justly, now.

Love mercy, now.

Walk humbly, now.

You are not obligated to complete the work.

But neither are you free to abandon it.

From the Talmud

David Mitchell

EXACTLY Mike!

Lawrence Foster

Jim, 

Here is the photo of the IC School Safety Patrol that you mentioned.  I think that the only name they misspelled was Mike Tann's where his name is listed as Lann.    

Michael DeTemple

Thanks to John, Tim, Dave and Mike for your postings.  I don't know who all is in the Caravan, but I really like the quote from the Talmud.  Would that we could act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly before God.