' [Birth Mother] First Mother Forum: The Man Trump and the right to control my body!

Thursday, March 31, 2016

The Man Trump and the right to control my body!

Lorraine 
Criminalize the women who have illegal abortions? Lock up and and put them in iron maidens? is that what the man who keeps protesting that he loves women, treats them better than any other candidate, yadda yadda yadda is planning to do?

The Trump has pulled back from that comment--now he just wants to punish the doctors who preform "illegal" abortions, not the women, but does The Man know that abortions are LEGAL in this country the last time I looked?

This post comes on the heels of Jane's excellent rant against MEN WHO MAKE LAWS TO PROTECT WOMEN (read that below, if you haven't already) and now we have a candidate that shows all signs of possible being one of the two people running for the presidency of the United States making idiotic sounds like that.


But although that comment could be dismissed as a blow-hard's idiocy, the dangers to birth control in America have never been more threatened than under what the Republicans are likely to do. They hate government, right? They want to curtail what it can do, right? But government funding of family planning is not only the best way to reduce abortions--but also reduce adoptions. And we here are First Mother Forum know what adoption does not only to the mother, but the child.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO GIVE UP A CHILD? 
Let's start with the relinquishing first birth natural mother: Lifelong stress and sorrow. More doctor visits. Unresolved grief. More hysterectomies. And anecdotally, more quick careless marriages after relinquishment. God knows know many suicides. And we know, a greater number of these women never have a another child, the impact of relinquishing is too great to get over.

And the adoptee: The lifelong question of Who Am I? and How Did I Come To Be? And most critically: Why Didn't My Mother Keep Me? Something must be wrong with me....why did she abandon me? More thoughts of suicide (but not statistics on how many because that data is impossible to collect). More visits to counselors, psychologist, AA meetings and probation officers! Yes, a lot of healthy wonderful adoptees--see The Good Adoptee--but the statistics here show the wealth of problems.

So yes, I'm hopping mad today that another MAN has taken it upon himself to tell us what we can and cannot do with our bodies. Bernie Sanders is the exception--he will not restrict abortion or unfund Planned Parenthood, but for me, I will look to a woman--Hillary--to protect the right to control my body. And of course, vote for whomever is the Democrat nominee.--lorraine

And if you haven't read Jane's piece about men making laws to protect women, don't miss it:

Sealed adoptee birth record laws: Protecting patriarchy


...see you later. Off to Spence-Chapin for the talk tonight. 

Lorraine Dusky: A Reading from Hole in my Heart

42 comments :

  1. Punitive.

    Here's another example:
    Woman forced to give birth to stillborn in Texas because of 'Women's Health Laws'
    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/3/31/1508687/-Woman-forced-to-give-birth-to-stillborn-in-Texas-because-of-Women-s-Health-Laws

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  2. Donald Trump was clearly making it up as he went along. He finally encountered an interviewer more obstinate and unhinged than himself--Chris Matthews--and blundered into an answer that is going to keep biting him in the ass throughout the cycle. I don't believe Donald Trump is anything, actually. He used to be pro-choice. He once gave money to Hillary. He thinks you should get an anti-gay-marriage SC justice but he also thinks the "court ruled" and there's nothing more to be done. The guy has no core.

    However, Republican attempts to shut off money for family planning are terrible, I agree. Much better to avoid pregnancy than to be put through surrender--complex at best for both mothers and adoptees--or raise your child in circumstances that just don't improve.

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  3. Well, I wasn't going to comment here ,butI'm a firstmother and also one of those people who is for Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump I'm a Dem but vote D about 60% and R about 40% The TV analysts can't figure out people like me Well, Bernie is the only one I really trust out of all of them but Trump has common sense Abortion is not and never was the main issue for me, but as far as Trump's comments-he just had another grandbaby this week so maybe that accounts for his confusion this week. Anyway Bernie and Trump I feel will not be pushed around by all our war-mongering congresspeople and lobbyists I don't dislike Hillary and she certainly deserves credit for trying to get universal healthcare 20 years ago but was so viciously attacked by the insurance industry that even she couldn't do it.Also we hadn't reached critical mass yet, but she voted for Nafta, repeal of Glass-steagall. Iraq War, TPP, so I don't really trust her. I don't dislike any of the others either but disagree with their views and don't trust them on Social Security and Medicare .Hillary ,Bernie and probably Trump won't mess with that I like how Trump and Sanders talk about bringing back factory jobs We need to have a manufacturing base to make our own clothes, cars, machines and appliances. It's very dangerous to outsource everything. As far as Trump's stupid comments on illegal immigrants, 2 of his wives are immigrants(and so was his mother) and if anyone thinks he hates immigrants or anyone, they're just projecting their own prejudices onto him.

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    1. A small number of factory jobs may come back. I doubt it's going to be many. Gone are the days where one man could get such a job and his wife could work part-time and they could afford a house and a bunch of kids.

      My own industry has tanked horribly and most of us agree that it is never coming back like it was. Once it's gone and certain people are profiting from the situation, it's very hard to reverse. In the case of manufacturing, the migration of jobs hinges on global free trade agreements made back in the Reagan era. You can thank him and our then-Canadian PM Brian Mulroney for NAFTA. The people who opposed it were indeed visionary. It's so ironic that Trump is stumping for its repeal and a return to protectionism.

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    2. Jess--may I ask what industry you are in?

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    3. Publishing, mostly educational, some trade, and now I offer editorial services to people going the self-publishing route because it's one of the few growing markets.

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  4. Agree with Jess that Trump has no actual beliefs or values, he is a theatrical creation playing to the lowest instincts of the mob. He is neither pro-life or pro-choice,just says what the situation demands. He is just a high level sock puppet for every bigot, racist, homophobe, immigrant hater and woman-hater in this country, saying what they think but do not have the nerve to say publicly. It is frightening that he has gotten this far, but the fact that he is so far over the edge may work in favor of Hilary or Bernie, whomever the Dems pick. I feel encouraged that I have not talked to anyone, including conservative religious Republicans, who will admit to being willing to vote for Trump. He is even too scary for the more sane right-wing folks. Maybe I don't travel in the right circles!

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    1. Anyone who equates Trump with Bernie and would equally vote for either one is not listening to either of them but making it up in their own head, or perhaps seeing some agreement on one narrow issue. Beware one issue voters, no matter what that issue is. I have a question for readers here, highly hypothetical: If a candidate whose other views you strongly opposed came out against adoption and promised to make it illegal,also promised to open all adoption records, would you vote for him on that one issue?

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    2. Since the probability of that is zero, let's leave it there. We can't even get our issue of unsealing all OBCs and while we are at it, let's let all mothers know where their children went... to gain major traction.

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  5. Donald gives every sign of being a somatic narcissist. There's no core there. His brain is wired wrong. In public he tries to play the charming nice guy who's the life of the party. It's all a carefully crafted persona. Out of public view, there's an abusive a-hole no woman in her right mind would want. He'll say and do whatever it takes to get what he wants. The smart thing to do is pass this guy by!

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  6. Donald Trump has a love child. True fact. She tries to influence him but he just doesn't listen.
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5J2YSsLTtHs

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    1. Well, that's just a comedian...

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    2. As Cecily Strong quipped, "Since I'm only a comedian, I'm not going to try to tell you politicians how to do politics or whatever. That's not my job. That'd be like you guys telling me what to do with my body. I mean, can you even imagine?"

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  7. Well I think rather than looking to any candidate in particular, this issue must have a higher public profile. We live in a society where adoption is looked upon as a good thing, saving children from deprivation of all sorts of benefits that could be offered by an adoptive couple. The answer does not, and cannot, lie with any candidate running for office at the presidential level. I am a birth mother, and I didn't even know that adoptees could not access their original birth certificates when they became adults. I just assumed that the law allowed them to do so, or that the adoptive parents would keep a photocopy of the OBC for their personal files. It's been through FMF that I learned what the situation really is and has been. This issue is quite important, but candidates are inundated with terrorism, economy, abortion, global trade, etc. (Except for Trump of course, who hasn't said anything about policy on any subject.) I don't really expect much dialogue on OBCs or adoption laws at that level this year.

    As for womens' bodies, only we should have the power to decide, since we are the ones who give birth. As Planned Parenthood once said ". . . and 100% of them will never become pregnant." What has been done over the last few years to legally harass and shut down abortion clinics is disgusting and wrong. So cowardly!

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  8. Lorraine, thanks for your recent reading at Spence-Chapin. I benefited greatly from hearing you speak, and everyone there was very kind. Your openness and welcoming sincerity was quite touching; if you are going to do a post about the talk, I'll respond. If not, that's OK. Perhaps what I have to say might help other birth mothers, or help adoptees. Not sure. Since so many people there had been in reunion over 25 years, and for me it hasn't even been 2 years, they have the benefit of perspective that I may not. I hope to help and not hurt.

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    1. I may try to get to it tomorrow. I wasn't thinking about writing anything, but I may try to get to it tomorrow. Thanks for coming, new and old. It was a pleasure to meet you!

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    2. I would like to hear about the presentation as well. Since there were people there in reunion 25 years and more, I probably know a lot of them from this area. Sorry I couldn't make it, would have been interesting to meet New and Old and see some of the others. I hope it went well.

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  9. I will try to write something tomorrow. But right after the presentation I came back to Sag Harbor where I am wearing my other hat--that of the theater reviewer for The Southampton Press, and I had a show to review Friday night, deadline tomorrow. I'm almost done...but it was not a great play and those are the hardest to write. You don't want to totally squash local theater but on the other hand, I won't write false praise.

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  10. Funny how you support Hillary as one who cares about women as she is a woman. But how many baby girls have been murdered through abortion Lorraine? Millions. How many women and girls have been raped, tortured and killed as she supports Israel Lorraine? Me thinks you don't see the whole picture. Mr. Trump is only against abortion, not birth control (and abortion is NOT birth control) so please get your facts straight. Mr. Trump being against illegal aliens in this county hogging all the jobs and RAPING SO MANY WOMEN is also helping women. I don't understand how someone who is so against adoption can support a liberal who if Georgia Tann, the inventor of forced and closed adoption was alive today would not only vote for, she would worship.

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  11. No rush, no worries as all. We are all Netizens out here, and will be hanging around for a long time, I imagine :) Do the paying work first! Important to meet your deadline.

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    1. Jane has a post, I finished my work, and I'll get to a discussion of the event later in the week.

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  12. I don't like to comment here- but maybe this will be the last time-since I am not a cookie-cutter talking egghead liberal who looks down on anyone who has actually done something besides just talk and look down on everyone else. Also, I am a pro-life Democrat birthmother(uh-oh-start throwing the eggs and rotten tomatoes). Sometimes, I do vote Republican I am not a one issue person as Maryanne implies I like Bernie except for his extreme position on abortion I also like Trump although I wouldn't want to meet him because I am not a 10(not even a 5 anymore). However, I might just hold my nose and vote for him because he has a curious mix of positions that I like At first I thought he was in it for more tax cuts for the rich and no estate tax(He has a lot of kids and grandkids) but I really think he wants to do good for this country and might just have the right mix of business knowledge, intuition and financial independence so he doesn't have to cave in to the lobbyists. He's so over-the-top he makes me laugh- and I used to be depressed Yeah, he probably was a sexist jerk in his younger years, but he doesn't seem like that anymore(oh well,not much anyway) One of the reasons the establishment is against him- he wants to have a one-time tax of 14% on wealthy people who have more than 10 million dollars-to pay off the deficit . Also there is a big credit derivative bubble of trillions of dollars about to burst(if the markets are not carefully manipulated) and the establishment wants to make sure they don't lose. Everyone I know feels the same as me about the candidates They like Bernie and Trump although one of my brothers said he might be forced to vote for Hillary. The other thinks Hillary wants to do good but also likes Trump He usually votes Republican but says he'll vote for whoever I tell him to Imagine that(no one else cares what I think) What a brother!

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    1. Anon, I don't view liberals the way you do - Since I am one. The reason I have liberal point of view is that I grew up on welfare with a single mother who was unable to work, and a father who left the state to avoid paying child support. Soon thereafter I found myself in a similar situation. Singles mothers are blamed for all the ills of the world, and no-one ever mentions deadbeat dads - and the public is not kind to fatherless children.

      But I have always been a Democrat, even as a teenager before I was old enough to vote. I campaigned for George McGovern as a teenager. My mom had a job as a civilian employee on a military base. When Nixon came in, he cut the budget and all the civilians were laid off. I've always been against budget-cutting for its own sake, and I have supported for programs that will help women and children. It is based on my lifetime experience. You're not the only Democrat birthmother out there, I'm sure. I certainly don't have any eggs to throw, and I don't look down on others, unless they express hatred and just want someone to shoot. My younger son, who I'll visit with in about 2 weeks (we are less than 2 years in reunion), spoke to me about how the IRS should be dismantled, etc., etc. while he visited me in November. I don't think that is practical, but I am so glad to hear his views, whatever they may be. He and his wife are fiscal conservatives, and my son may be a Libertarian, I'm not sure. Maybe he was afraid to say so, for fear of offending me. When I see him, I'll tell him the same thing that I say here. They are aware that my husband and I are Democrats.

      Remember your vote is your own, and you have the right to vote for whoever you want to, and that's why the voting booth has a curtain - It is a highly personal decision. Your brother, well some people are not political at all. That was me at one time. Now that I'm older, if Medicare is dismantled or whatever, it would directly affect me (although I can't retire for 5 or 10 years, the way things look like now). If your brother trusts your judgment, don't be afraid to give him any comments you have, with a disclaimer that it is his vote so it should be who he thinks would be the right choice. Do what your common sense and conscience tell you. I personally don't think Trump is qualified for the office of President, and I will say no more than that. I hope he will disappear before November, and then - Que sera, sera.

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    2. And - I kept my two children as long as I was able. In the 70's I changed jobs while the 3 of us were together. For insurance coverage at the new job, I had to sign an acknowledgement, that the insurance would not cover my older son for a pre-existing condition (sinus inflammation or something like that - something that kids get, which was easily treated by a doctor). A 3 year old child, who an insurance company agrees to cover, except for the one thing he had prior to date of new insurance. This made an impression on me, which has lasted life-long. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, no-one, including children, will ever be denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition. We liberals have reasons for our views, it is not that we are in ivory towers - in fact, quite the opposite. Some of us have lived with exclusionary politics, and policies which support the corporate desire to be rich and richer at the expense of the public, and we therefore would like to make things better for everybody.

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    3. No, we liberals are just as diverse a lot as conservatives, not "cookie-cutter egg head liberals". You need to turn off Fox News and talk radio and actually meet and talk to some people like us with different views. My parents and my husband's parents were hardly "egg-head liberals", they were working class people whose Union jobs gave them a better life than my grandparents had. Not all who are concerned about jobs for everyone, and the outsourcing of so many industries to other countries think that Trump has realistic answers to this or other issues. Trump has no connection to manufacturing, and his service industry jobs, such as at his non-union casino, are the lowest paying and have the least security or benefits. He did not work his way up but inherited considerable wealth. He is not the friend of the working person, but is using the frustration of people whose lives have caused them to give up hope by providing an easy scapegoat in immigrants , the poor, and minorities. A lot is wrong with this country, especially for the shrinking middle class, but Trump does not have workable answers to those real problems.

      By the way rather than putting us all in boxes, I am a life-long democrat, and would say I am a democratic socialist like Bernie, but I am not enthusiastic about unrestricted abortion, pro-life in my personal beliefs but uneasy about telling other women what to do when faced with that awful choice. I have a very racially and ethnically diverse family in my children's generation, and am very concerned about the kind of hatred that Trump is encouraging. It is of course your choice whom to vote for, and if Trump's agenda seems right to you, go for it. As to your brother, I would not be flattered by anyone asking me who to vote for, and would say "do your own research and make up your own mind." As I have mentioned before, even my very conservative friends who always vote Republican do not like Trump. Things must be very different where you are.

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    4. Anon, perhaps my sister could be considered an egghead liberal. She earned a PhD. in the scientific world. And she did it all on government grants and loans! She had no money and so she worked as a waitress for years, and studied the rest of the time. It took her many more years to achieve this goal than it would have her fellow students, whose parents were able to send their kids to college. I think it took her 8 years to finish her dissertation (the norm I think is 2 or 3 years?), but she did it. Slowly but surely; this is big government at work. Government's role should be to help people who don't have the advantages of the more well-to-do. And the loans are paid back to the US Government - with no interest rate, like the banks would charge.

      Where we are going to visit my younger son, it will be gun-and-Trump country for sure. We'll just have to try not to get into a confrontational political argument with anyone. But we are good at being humorous, but still making a good point. Believe it or not, we have relatives in Brooklyn who (at least the husband) will be voting Trump. The wife may also, as she is a fiscal conservative, and she has become so since they got together. This year it seems many people who are otherwise reasonable have a little "crazy" in them. "Maybe our country needs someone like him" is what I hear from Brooklyn (??) of all places? We have another good friend in Brooklyn who is a screaming liberal :) and his 21-year old son is voting Trump! Our friend is very upset, but hey his son is an adult. What can you do about it, except keep talking?

      As to abortion, I'm in a similar boat as Maryanne. I chose not to abort my second son and I am so glad I didn't. It was not the right decision for me. But I can't make that decision for any other women, and I'm so glad that women today have a choice (although efforts are being made to erode that possibility, that's what we need to remember.) Trump of course is not equipped to tell women what to do. Neither are any of the other candidates, if we must answer yes or no. But definitely the destruction that's ongoing now, to roll-back the times and harass abortion clinics and women, has got to be stopped.

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  13. What kind of hate is Trump encouraging maryanne? That is a ridiculous statement. He does not want illegal aliens here. So what? He is respecting the law. THAT makes him a racist? This country is so grotesquely over populated, there are way to many people here, including children from countries like Brazil and Haiti that stupid AP's adopted, that here are just not enough jobs at all, nor will there be in the future. We had a big enough problem with this before so many other people came over here, including illegal aliens thanks to Obama and now it is a 100 times worse. America should of helped poorer countries financially and by providing food instead of letting them live here and steal all the jobs from people who were born here. You liberals are what is wrong with this country and you liberals started closed adoption to. Catholic clergy is gay, including most nuns, Tann was gay and Lehman was a liberal democrat to. All you ever do is whine maryanne while you refuse to see how much pain people like yourself cause. Even to yourselves.

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    1. This is hate speech. Please remove it.

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    2. Because I knew people would reply, because it is full of absurd opinion as you state Jess, I decided to publish it. And BTW Anonymous, Maryanne's comments were cogent and intelligent.

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    3. Anon Anonymous, please see Megan's comment below. She is not a liberal, but she is also not full of the hate you espouse.

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  14. My close family including step-children are liberals, progressives, Democrats. My father voted for the first socialist on the presidential ballot, Henry Wallace, who favored a liberal agenda that included universal health care and rapid desegregation. When the Democrats dropped him in favor of Harry Truman in the 1948 election, Wallace formed the Progressive Party and ran as a...fourth party candidate, as Strom Thumond also ran as the candidate under the "States Rights" party, which sounds like another name for "Continued Segregation, Dixie forever!" My father was one of the 2.4 percent of the voting public who pulled the lever for Wallace. (I have always been inordinately proud of this, and love to mention it. See smiley face here.)

    Some in the immediate and step family are for Bernie; others like me for Hillary. But cousins and friends--in Michigan--well, that's another story! Facebook reveals all

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    1. Here are some interesting details about Truman and Wallace and that era. This is a very interesting chapter in American history. It raises a great "what if" question about different scenarios that might have played out. What if FDR had not dropped Wallace? What if questions are fascinating, kind of like "what if the Mongols had invaded Western Europe?"

      FDR's first vice-president was John Nance Garner of Texas, who had previously been Speaker of the House. He broke with FDR in his second term over Roosevelt's plan to pack the Supreme Court. He ran for president in 2040, but the convention overwhelmingly drafted Roosevelt for an unprecedented third term.

      That left FDR in need of a new VP and he chose Henry Wallace. But a lot of Democrats, especially conservative southern Democrats, didn't like Wallace. So in 1944 they made a move to have him replaced. Eventually they convinced Roosevelt to make a change. He picked Senator Harry Truman of Missouri. It was widely believed by insiders at the time that whoever FDR picked as VP would ascend to the presidency in the next four years, since Roosevelt was in poor health.

      In 1948 Wallace ran for president, along with Strom Thurmond and Thomas Dewey, against Truman. Dewey was overwhelmingly favored to win the presidency and Truman's upset victory was arguably the biggest shock in American political history. Many FMF readers might be familiar with the Chicago Tribune headline the day after the election: "Dewey defeats Truman."

      On a happier note, Dewey's running-mate was Earl Warren, the governor of California. By losing the race Warren was in a position to be appointed as the Chief Justice in 1953. Dwight Eisenhower would later regret the appointment, but it was a wonderful thing for our society. IMO Warren was the greatest Chief Justice the nation ever had.

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    2. Didn't know the Earl Warren story, but I did know that Warren turned out to be Eisenhower's and the GOP's big disappointment! He never served as a judge prior to his appointment, but had been Attorney General of California.

      We have the most interesting readers!

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    3. As well as governor, of course.

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    4. Yes, Earl Warren was one of the best Chief Justice's we've ever had. He went to UC Berkley law school and had never been a judge. He had common sense, real world experience, and knew how to bring people to his side. The Warren Court was one of the best things that ever happened in the US, ended legal racial discrimination, protected the rights of people accused of crimes, and protected the right of free speech. If it hadn't been for Warren and his gang of eight, we'd be living in a police state and people of color would be far worse off than they are today.

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  15. Anon 10:23 - Here are some things to think about. First, do you believe that the types of jobs worked by illegal immigrants are jobs that 2nd generation Americans would do? Generally no, they are not. Many of the millions of unemployed Americans are not even healthy enough to do immigrant work, even if they had the work ethic for it. Illegals are not "stealing all the jobs from people who were born here." Illegals aren't taking away nearly as many jobs as alarmist think. Candidates keep promising "good paying jobs." Illegal immigrants don't have those kinds of jobs. Instead of pointing the finger at illegal immigrants, it would be smarter to go after businesses that employ them. Enforce the laws requiring businesses to obtain work visas for immigrants employees, and then we'd get taxes out of them. Employers hire illegals to get out of paying taxes and fair wages, and to avoid bringing workplace conditions up to the code that legal Americans enjoy. Employers get rich off the backs of illegal immigrants.

    Trump's tactic is to point a finger, to find a group to blame our economic woes on. His targeting immigrants has been convincing for some because it appeals to the baser instincts of some to mistrust those who are different racially, culturally and religiously. It has not worked out well for other nations who have put leaders in power who talks the way Trump does.

    To say that there are too many people and not enough jobs to go around shows an ignorance on the subject of economics. People with jobs consume -- food, housing, clothing, services, etc. Consumption creates jobs. If we took away consumers in this country, the job market would shrink, not expand.

    By the way, I am not a liberal, not by any stretch of the imagination. I have voted Republican for years.

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  16. Megan, brilliant analysis and you sound like the Republicans I know. There are good and compassionate and reasonable people among both conservatives and liberals, who can have a reasonable discussion without resorting to ad hominem attacks on their opponents, or to outright repetition of lies.

    Anonymous, you have proved my point about the motivation of Trump supporters and the fears he plays to.

    Lorraine, interesting stuff about your Dad supporting Wallace. My dad had said when he was very young he went into NYC to see Al Smith speak, the first Catholic candidate for president when Catholics were the subject of much prejudice as recent immigrants to the US. We all came from immigrants, except Native Americans. Some were legal, some not, but all made this country what it is. It is time to stop the cycle of those already here turning against the next wave from another place. Welcoming the stranger is one of the major tenets of the Judeao-Christian and other religious traditions.

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  17. One more comment about "good paying jobs" in America. Yes, some LEGAL immigrants get good paying jobs here, because they have skills and knowledge that not enough Americans possess. If you want to get "good paying jobs" for more Americans, the answer is not to deport illegals, because they don't have those jobs either. If you want a good job, then go learn how to code in several different computer languages. Or go get a medical degree.

    I personally have assisted in applying for visas for foreign physicians. Why do we hire doctors from other countries? Because there are not enough young Americans who want to put in the study and hard work to become a doctor. And many that do go through medical school don't want to practice where we need them most. I recently helped obtain a J-1 Visa for a foreign doctor to work in a poor, rural community in the Midwest. The healthcare system in the area tried recruiting a primary care physician for over a year, but nobody wanted to practice there. We didn't even get inquiries about the job after extensive advertising and courting of new med school grads. We finally recruited a foreign physician with the surname of Khan. I played a part in helping him obtain his Visa. We rejoiced when we got word the Visa was approved. He seems like a very humble, dedicated physician, and we feel blessed to have him. The children in the community are particularly under served, and he will fill a much needed void. We incurred a lot of administrative costs to hire this guy. Several people from my company were involved with preparing his Visa application. We would have been happy to fill that job vacancy with an American citizen. But we could not find a qualified US citizen willing to even consider taking the job.

    And Trump wants to block this guy's Visa simply because he might be Muslim!!! This physician will be saving American lives and ensuring kids grow up healthy.

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    1. Thank you for relating this story, Megan. It's detailed explanations like this about how the system actually works, who is actually at risk and what the consequences are of certain policies, that may help some uncommitted people out there decide how to vote as well.

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    2. Megan--Yes, that is a great story about immigrants. As for the need for family physicians in rural areas, it has been a problem in American (and probably Canada) for decades. I first wrote about it some 35 years ago (I used to write about health and medicine for a newspaper) and I can only imagine that the situation is much more dire now.

      Anonymous seems to have drifted away.

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  18. I was considering med school, was actually premed for first year of undergrad. I switched to biotechnology because I didn't want to incur nearly $200,000 in debt before my first real job.

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  19. Mashka, I was going to say something about that, the huge debt that student loans put on people, and those for an MD are astronomical, it takes many years to pay them off and contrary to popular belief doctors are not all rich. I do not know how other countries fund medical education, but I think this is a factor in so many doctors coming from other countries and less in training here. There has to be a better way than years of crushing debt.

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