10 Things the U.S. needs more than a Wall

10. Investment in Infrastructure

Sorry, the wall, which is just a metaphor for Trump’s anti-immigrant, xenophobic, racist views,  does not count as infrastructure.  The country needs repairs to roads and bridges, better airports, an updated electrical grid system, new schools and medical facilities and renewed commitments to protecting national parks.

9. Investment in Science

This includes funding for quantum computing, cyber security, space exploration (because space is the place) climate change research, ultra high voltage power lines to create supergrids for clean energy transmission, and artificial intelligence.

8. Gun control

This is a no-brainer. With the vast majority of Americans in favor of expanded background checks and a ban on military assault rifles and other weaponry made for the battlefield, it is almost impossible to believe that nothing has been done.  However, with the NRA becoming less influential, and with politicians being increasingly pressured by their constituents to enact gun safety legislation, the prospects look bright.

7. Climate change action

If we don’t do something, they’ll be nothing left for our children or those who come after us.  Humans who are not yet born may need to find lodging on Mars in the years to come as our planet heats up due to our foolish insistence on burning fossil fuels, polluting the environment and putting profits over people and the planet.

6. Health care for all

That’s right and this should be a right for all, not just a benefit for the privileged. I can’t wrap my brain around why Republicans hated Obamacare but so love tax cuts for the wealthy.  It’s as if they feel that certain people don’t deserve good health care or tax breaks. The question is, what have the rich done to deserve tax relief? Where is the love? Where is the empathy for our brothers and sisters of this country and the world who are sick and suffering.

5. Immigration reform

Not a wall.  Border security, ok. Strategic fencing, fine. We do need to protect DACA recipients and provide a path to eventual citizenship for the undocumented who have been living and working in the country.  We should be a leader in solving the humanitarian crisis at the border and allow refugee and asylum seekers to make their cases freely without delay. The only caravan that is worth attention is the great jazz venue in Ft. Worth called The Caravan of Dreams. Ornette Coleman and Pat Metheny played there once together to bring in the New Year of 1986.

4. Voting rights for all citizens

This voter suppression nonsense has to stop.  Republicans have done all that they can to make it harder for Blacks and Hispanics to vote because they feel their White grip on power slipping as the demographics of the country change.  Just say NO to voter id requirements, and the closing of polling places.  Say NO to doing away with early voting. Say NO to robo calls that contain confusing and false information about elections. And say NO to voter roll purging, another dirty trick that Florida Governor Scott used to play.

3. Renewed commitment to human rights

No more palling around with dictators – Trump, as much as he would like, hasn’t even been accepted into the Dictator club – he’s a bad dictator, a bad President and a terrible businessman.  How he got elected to the presidency is beyond me.  Perhaps he had some help – actually, he did, that fact is not even in dispute.  But did he know – did he or his campaign collude? We shall soon see.

2. Democracy Restoration

The Trump Presidency has done a number on U.S. Democracy and it will take some time to recover from all the damage Trump has delivered.  But with Dems taking over the House and with the ongoing investigation getting ever so closer to the Trump orbit, the systems of checks and balances will begin to restore health to our weakened Democracy.  He’ll have to account for his actions and those of his cabinet.  And once the Mueller probe is over, Trump can’t have the report buried.  This report could lead to impeachment, removal or Trump stepping down.  Trump will go down in history as one of the worst things that ever happened to the U.S., and he will be remembered as THE worst U.S. president of all time.  This will be his legacy – his big “win.”

1.  End to the Shutdown NOW

Let’s make no mistake.  This is a Trump Shutdown, not a Nancy Pelosi or a Chuck Schumer Shutdown. It is not a strike either as Trump suggested.  He said he would be proud to shut the government down and that he would own it.

There are bills passed by the House waiting for the Senate to take action that would end the Shutdown. Once passed, all Trump would need to do is sign one.  Then he could try to negotiate for the border security he claims the U.S. needs.  There is no need for him to declare a national emergency, for there is no emergency at the border – a humanitarian crisis, yes, but not an emergency to justify a wall. His claims have not been supported with facts that point to any kind of security crisis that even comes close to the crisis that our lax gun control laws pose.  In the last 72 hours, 80 people in the U.S. have died from gun violence – with no incidents at the border. The Wall is a metaphor for racism and a failed presidency – in the words of Nancy Pelosi, it’s “an immorality.”

NO WALL.