By Richard Wolffe
The Guardian (1/12/18)
Donald Trump knows a thing or two about “shitholes” – the label he apparently bestowed on El Salvador, Haiti and various African nations during an Oval Office meeting about immigration. His own father was reportedly so ashamed of coming from Germany – widely considered to be a “shithole” by Americans fighting in two world wars – that he pretended for most of his life that he was Swedish.
These Aryan dreams glowed all blond and bright through Trump’s seminal book, The Art of the Deal, in which he claimed his father arrived as a child from Sweden like some kind of Nordic dreamer.
And they persist to this day inside the White House, where the 45th president of the United States wonders why oh why can’t we get more Norwegians to restock the racial purity of our immigrant bloodlines?
Before the Finns complain about prejudice, we need to have a frank discussion, Mr President.
Those who seek to justify or even celebrate Trump must face as much public disgust as the racist-in-chief himself.
You don’t need to be ashamed of your own “shithole” past. Like you, my family also hails from a “shithole”. Half my family comes from Morocco, which is an African country. Like you, I was even born in a “shithole” part of a nation that was once frequented by Viking invaders. I grew up in Birmingham, which you might think of as the Queens of England. (Memo to the White House: Not the Queen of England. She’s totally different, although she’s also from a German family.)
Us shitholers need to stick together
Just as all those snooty Manhattan types disdain your birthplace, most of London sneers at mine. I feel your pain. Us shitholers need to stick together. There’s hope for us, you know. You became president because your Russian friends thought you’d be good for a giggle. I learned how to read and write, and chanced upon a job as a typist. It’s funny how immigration opens doors like that.
Far too many people are surprised by your racism, which is as ignorant as it is blatant. This is confusing because you’ve made no secret of your attitudes.
You started this political trip by insisting that America’s first black president wasn’t really American, despite all evidence to the contrary. You seem driven by an irrational hatred of everything Obama: you even blamed him on Thursday for building a new US embassy in London, even though the decision was taken by his white Republican predecessor. You campaigned against Mexico by peddling the libel that the country was sending its criminals and rapists to America. You now want to kick out 200,000 immigrants from El Salvador who keep the economy humming in your new hometown of Washington.
Neo-Nazi sympathizer
When neo-Nazis marched in Charlottesville, carrying torches and shouting about racial purity, you said they were good people. You endorsed the Britain First brand of neo-Nazism by sharing its racist lies on Twitter.
With a depressing frequency, you have made it clear that you are literally a neo-Nazi sympathizer. If at some stage you promote eugenics on Twitter, we will save a few letters on our character counts and simply call you a neo-Nazi.
For now, your power to shock says more about us than it does about you. Some people were genuinely ready to believe you were considering a deal on immigration after you allowed the TV cameras to broadcast your civil discussioninside the cabinet room on Tuesday. The media seemed surprised that you could speak like a sane person without dribbling on to your shoes.
This is of course a low bar. But so is feeling outrage about your recent comments about Haitians and Africans. ..
-
African Immigrants Are More Educated Than Most — Including Native-Born Americans – Lots of the news from sub-Saharan Africa is about war, famine, poverty or political upheaval. So it’s understandable if many Americans think most Africans who immigrate to the United States are poorly educated and desperate. That’s the impression that President Donald Trump left with his comments to members of Congress opposing admission of immigrants from “shithole countries” in Africa and elsewhere. But research tells another story. While many are refugees, large numbers are beneficiaries of the “diversity visa program” aimed at boosting immigration from underrepresented nations. And on average, African immigrants are better educated that people born in the U.S. or the immigrant population as a whole. … Read the Rest
- Watch This UK Humorist Ridicule President ‘Trumphole’ For Cowardly Cancelling His British Trip – Following a bizarre and profanity-laced week in American politics, MSNBC’s “AM Joy” show offered a light-hearted look back with US-based British humorist Martin Lewis. … Link to Story and 5-Minute Video
A Truth-In-Advertising Message Was Projected On The Front Entrance Of Trump’s Washington D.C. Hotel.
*****
Fortunate Norwegians Aren’t Likely To Give Up Their High Quality Of Life To Live In A Place Like The US
By Kara Fox
CNN (1/12/18)
(CNN)During a meeting in the Oval Office on Thursday, US President Donald Trump reportedly blasted a number of nations as “shithole countries.” Then he turned his attention to Norway.
“If you want to attract more immigration from Norway, you’re going to need to provide Universal Healthcare, Free College, and robust social safety nets. Because they already have all those things.”
How To Remodel Trump’s Oval Office…
(Commoner Call cartoon and photo by Mark L. Taylor, 2018. Open source and free to use with link to www.thecommonercall.org )