Covid-19, Gun Violence, Unity, Abortion to Immigration - A Promise with so much hopes where is it now four months towards Mid Terms Elections

 My Boy Will Die of Sorrow: A Memoir of Immigration from the Front Lines

 Reading Efrén C. Olivares bestselling author's book release today "My Boy Will Die of Sorrow" reminded me to finally update my blog as I haven't had for some time. Honestly, I've been in a way discourage to write in lieu of the events I've been seeing vis a vis the hopes I had in the past year. 

Sadly, as everyone has been experiencing the harsh reality of life surviving the effects of inflation, still living through the fear of Covid-19, the daily news of gun violence and on and on. There's this issue of Roe vs. Wade which is another that opens up another saga of discussions. There's a lot to take what's happening around us but sometimes you just have to look at what is the first thing that is needed for today. For one, you have to eat buy food and groceries, are you able to afford them and you have to go to work and put gas on your car. If you live if San Francisco, Ca for example Premium gas can be as high as $5.99. Then in between you don't have enough money in the bank, you checking account get's overdrawn and you get charge the overdraft fees and then the finance fee from your credit card if you have credit card as back up for the overdraft protection. For lunch when you do not have enough money, you take your credit card out to pay for your lunch with your credit card with an APR 26% as your credit is not that great. Hopefully, you have medical and dental insurance in case you get sick. If not you'll be using that credit card again in case for medical bills and medicines.  

In the summer of 2018, Efrén C. Olivares found himself representing hundreds of immigrant families when Zero Tolerance separated thousands of children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. Twenty-five years earlier, he had been separated from his own father for several years when he migrated to the U.S. to work. Their family was eventually reunited in Texas, where Efrén and his brother went to high school and learned a new language and culture. I took this excerpt from this book of Efren Olivares to relate an example on when the new administration started with the vision of Immigration Reform.

From the looks of it, as in the past Democratic Presidents Immigration Reform is no longer a conversation as it looks like. It's unfortunate that even in both Houses of Congress there were discussions but it looks like now four months before mid term elections this topic is also muted. 

As an example when Covid-19 started in 2019 there were I-130 Immigrant Petitions from the USCIS that were approved already waiting for Interviews. Because the broken Immigration system, if your are in the United States the law requires if you have an approved petition such as these you have to leave the US and be interviewed in your home country. The corresponding Embassy abroad through the Dept. of State will arrange the Interview Date. So even if your petitioner has a medical need or hardship you still have to go to this process. It is now 2022 going 2023 and we can count the backlog that this has created and this particular process itself. The worst case scenario those that might have had medical need might have been too late by now. Yet in the interim between how many refugees had we allowed to be expedited to enter the USA from Afghanistan or Ukraine. This is not to be bias about them but just to make a point. And yes our Congressman knows about these issues. As a matter of fact if you write to some of them they simply to do not even send a auto reply.

We can't always say we have to go out and vote. We have to show we are doing something so people will see that they really need to support the cause.

Celebrating Martin Luther King, A Year After January 6 and A New President - What's The future

 It's been a while I've written and I apologize as some of my readers has been asking they haven't heard from me. Like most of all of you, I've been fighting I al lot of personal fires of survival. Life has been tough believe it of not. Yes, we we open the year with a high bar, high hopes with a new administration yet Covid-19 seem to proliferate our lives to the point that were all tired from it at this point,

I remember back then when it was Dr. King's special day I would write a blog remembering his fight on civil rights, remembering the march and his death. Well this year, right on the eve of this special holiday, I'm watching cable TV on a hostage situation in Texas on Jewish house of worship where the hostage taker took four (4) hostages. A law enforcement official earlier told the AP that the hostage-taker demanded the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaida. The hostage-taker was heard demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, the Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaida, the officials said. He also said he wanted to be able to speak with her, according to the officials. Siddiqui is in federal prison in Texas.  …Quoted from the Concho Valley News.. The event was livestream in Facebook initially so the worshippers was able to see it.

This story goes longer but in short, The Jewish community preys target in this case for this hostage taker as a reason and also as an exchange in is mind to release for this person stated above. January 6, is another story to tell that happen in regards to the republic and turn over of the new President.

I'm trying to remember the year but it's quite really hard to remember as there were so many things that happen. And much of them as I have mentioned at the start was mostly putting out fires which is one of the reasons I hardly had time myself to even write a blog. A lot of times is survival, stretching the wallet and time, fixing what needs to be fix as if there is always no time. 

There were so many calamities this year, I know they say unemployment numbers looks good in spite of the inflation we have never seen in decades. They also say that Americans had been quitting jobs in droves to look for new ones. There are also a lot of un-vaccinated dying of Covid-19 but do we know if all all of them are really non believers or because they do not have insurance and are not informed?  And if you are a real common lay person, you might agree you are just tired of fighting to survive everyday?

I know people sometimes get tired when I compare my destination visits but this is how I can see the changes that happen from time to time.

Last night, I decided to take the underground in San Francisco and explore the "Castro". I was hoping the grab a bite on a favorite Japanese restaurant I have not been to in about 7 months. The first thing I notice was on weekend the Castro looks like a Ghost Town even seeing some homeless by 18th St. Not only was favorite Japanese restaurant now closed so as some restaurant and shops that did not survive with this pandemic. From my qualified guess, either my favorite restaurant was not a recipient of the American Rescue Plan Package for Restaurants or they already exhausted it.  I know for a fact that even though you have received any kind of help before for the pandemic, it would have been exhausted by now.

When the pandemic started for example in California, one can file for Unemployment if you have lost half or part of you income. For example, in San Francisco, it is a convention and tourism city. So one can have multiple sources of income and employers. Nowadays, they have eliminated that option as a reason that you lost part of your income. So if your wondering why the unemployment numbers are looking good now and those that are filing for unemployment have gone down, here's one good reason why. Likewise, for some it's just complicated in reporting and they feel they make a mistake so might as well so forget it on filing.

Let me also touch a little on Immigration. I can't help but start on this with Afghanistan. I respect the fact that it was a necessary undertaking and that we needed to bring the refugees for relocation. At the same I was reading an online article last night a US resident stuck either in Europe or UAE with a wife about to have birth in 23 days. Luckily, he has news coverage trying to appeal to the State Dept. as the US Embassy where he was was still on locked down and he cannot be scheduled for interview so he can travel back to the US. What's my point here?  In the United States as we all know, Immigration Reform was on the list on the President's agenda when he took office. We now know that by now there is slim chances that this will pass through the US Senate. During the Covid-19 pandemic there are so many Approved I-130 Green Card Permanent Alien Petitions by US Citizens to their Immediate Families to be scheduled to US Embassies and Consulates Overseas that are on hold since 2019.

These petitions are from family members who have been waiting legally in the US to adjust their status as far 3o years. And since 2019 they still have to wait again due to covid-19 pandemic and all they get from the Dept. of State and USCIS are reminders that the interviews cannot be scheduled yet. 

New York (CNN Business)The US Chamber of Commerce is calling for doubling the number of legal immigrants into America as a way to ease inflation and the worker shortage.

"We need more workers. We should welcome people who want to come here, go to school and stay," Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday. "That is a place the government could be particularly helpful and we do believe it would be anti-inflationary."

Clark added that ramping up immigration would help to ease the supply chain disruptions that are at the heart of the inflation spike, including the shortage of truck drivers.

"If we can alleviate the worker shortage, it might be the fastest thing to do to impact inflation," Clark said.

Domestic and Foreign Priorities, 100 Days Shaping a Transitional Presidency and Beyond

 

Culminating a speech on a joint session of Congress, US President Joseph R. Biden mark his first 100 days in  office with his new American Jobs Plan. The American Jobs Plan will invest in America in a way we have not invested since we built the interstate highways and won the Space Race. As of this writing the President is now on a tour trying to sell this plan.

As any new President's 100 days, Joe Biden's Presidency has been successful with an approval rating way above the 50's than his predecessor. Although considered lower the Bush and Clinton in lieu of the factors of the 2020 elections still lingering lies created by his predecessor. He came to this presidential race with the main goal of the solving the greatest pandemic logistics in the USA for Covid-19. To date, we have about 220 million Americans vaccinated and were seeing the light of the freedom.

Yet, as we know towards the 100 days of this presidency, the biggest and probably the most important and non popular Presidential decision was "Afghanistan". We all know that Joe Biden's career was in the in the Foreign Relations and diplomacy. He was also clear that he wanted to unify and be a transitional President from the chaos of the last four years. We also know his empathy as well as his own losses and stories which I can just speculate in major decision like this, you really put what is best for the country first, 

Why may I say that? Britannica explains,  The development of foreign policy is influenced by domestic considerations, the policies or behavior of other states, or plans to advance specific geopolitical designs. Leopold von Ranke emphasized the primacy of geography and external threats in shaping foreign policy, but later writers emphasized domestic factors.  Diplomacy is the tool of foreign policy, and war, alliances, and international trade may all be manifestations of it.

As we discussed about this American Jobs Plan on trillions of dollars in the coming months then we talked about debt and America being the wealthiest nation on earth. Then we have this non ending debates between politicians while the low income people in America are still suffering to survive everyday and small businesses still trying to find working capital each day, these are prime examples of "domestic considerations" the policies of behavior right here in the United States of America.  The funds that we are spending overseas on the war on Afghanistan for example will help this domestic considerations.

On my take on Diplomacy, what the US needs to look into is the life after the US withdrawal in Afghanistan. We know that there could be some exodus to neighboring Pakistan as refuge.    Pakistan stays afloat on an IMF loan with strict conditionality should be a consideration as an example to look into. There should be on the ground efforts established within Afghanistan itself to protect human rights and women by funding agencies the the USAID missions. 

The human and financial costs of the two foreign ‘mis’adventures have been phenomenal: in Vietnam close to 59,000 American soldiers lost their lives; in Afghanistan it is pushing close to 2,500 fatalities and more than 20,000 wounded. In terms of US dollar value in 2019, both Vietnam and Afghanistan have cost US tax payers more than one trillion dollars each; with some independent estimates putting the figure for Afghanistan adventure close to two trillion dollars.

My take on this as this President moves beyond his 100 days there are still so many emergency domestic issues that needs to be address as his priority.  Like what he is now doing on India, he is sharing whatever we can to help but still the main focus is on the domestic front. 

Life moving forward 2020, a new hope out of the a year of the Covid-19 Pandemic

 

San Francisco, Ca 4 hours before the clock ticks to 2021 where the shelter in place is about to expire on Monday just got extended indefinitely in lieu of the looming crisis in the State's almost out of ICU beds. Meanwhile, local authorities has been vocally strict tonight on private gatherings that might trigger more unforeseen infections. I had to appreciate watching John Meyer on CNN's special New Year's broadcast while he plays the piano and sings live from LA as replacement of the annual fireworks display at the waterfront at the Embarcadero Pier. I started with the Anti-Masking Meeting photo image courtesy of the  ©newspapers.com/aschultz138 From the San Francisco Chronical, 25th January 1919 to give a little history on "Restricting what people can do is always hotly debated, and the recent debate in the press on the need to wear masks while in public spaces and on public transport is not a modern concern. Historian Samuel Cohen has referred to the ‘anti-mask league’ of San Francisco in early 1919, which gained backing from several thousand people opposed to wearing a mask" https://microbiologysociety.org  As we know all the way back in March San Francisco was the first city to place a shelter in place and tonight out of caution again hence is why it extended it's shelter in place indefinitely until the State's Covid-19 crisis is over. If you are resident of San Francisco or are familiar with the city you understand why SF is indeed highly cautious on this. Notwithstanding on the 1919 history, similar to what Los Angeles is now undergoing, the city is heavily dense with a large homeless population and also a lot of communities of color and minorities. It's like a time bomb in laymen's terms that especially with the new discovered strain of covid-19, when an area like the tenderloin neighborhood area gets hits for example, that alone will already take the whole infrastructure beds of the city's San Francisco General Hospital. 

American Crisis, author Gov. Andrew Cuomo ells the riveting story of how he took charge in the fight against COVID-19 as New York became the epicenter of the pandemic, offering hard-won lessons in leadership and his vision for the path forward.

When COVID-19 besieged the United States, New York State emerged as the global “ground zero” for a deadly contagion that threatened the lives and livelihoods of millions. Quickly, Governor Andrew Cuomo provided the leadership to address the threat, becoming the standard-bearer of the organized response the country desperately needed. With infection rates spiking and more people dying every day, the systems and functions necessary to combat the pandemic in New York—and America—did not exist. So Cuomo undertook the impossible. He unified people to rise to the challenge and was relentless in his pursuit of scientific facts and data. He quelled fear while implementing an extraordinary plan for flattening the curve of infection. He and his team worked day and night to protect the people of New York, despite roadblocks presented by a president incapable of leadership and addicted to transactional politics.

Cuomo, did what he had to do but we have to note also that prior to his actions, he did not think that Covid-19 was a problem. When he realized the problem and tackled it, he did his best as much of our state and local leaders. The pandemic response varied from state to state then. In California, for example Gov. Gavin Newsom was the first Governor to install the shelter in place and California had a good success in Spring to Summer of bending the pandemic curve on infections and hospitalizations.

As we end 2020. Newsom even has a recall battle due to the state restrictions on lockdowns and mask while the State of CA's had a total of 2,245,379 cases where there was  27,237 today and 428 deaths  out of a total death of 25,386.

One of the biggest challenge of the pandemic crisis  from acknowledgement, testing to now vaccinations really boils down to a  national body or response. It's been a pin pointing between the Federal and State levels of government. The promised 20 million vaccinations as we end 2020 was only 2 million. Meanwhile Astra-Zeneca's vaccine in the Uk just got approved and might get the English vaccinated by half of 2021. One of the debatable discussions is that the United Kingdom has a National Health Service.

Looking at the incoming Biden-Harris administration's Covid-19 plan, it talk's about:

Establish and fund a U.S. Public Health Service Reserve Corps to activate former Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers to expand medical and public health capacity. By creating the Reserve Corps, we will have a larger team of health professionals to deploy across the nation to help train health care systems in detection and response, educate the public, provide direct patient care as needed, and support the public health infrastructure in communities that are often under-resourced and struggling.

Looking at this plan, I found the paid sick leave for Covid-19 where California's paid sick leave tax incentive for employers expires tonight when the clock ticks to 2021. 

The Biden Plan calls for an emergency paid leave program that will ensure that all workers can take paid leave during the COVID-19 crisis. It calls for passage of the Healthy Families Act with the addition of an emergency plan that will require 14 days of paid leave for those who are sick, exposed, or subject to quarantines—while also ensuring that employers will not bear any additional costs for such additional leave in the midst of this crisis. 

So let's hope, watch and see moving forward for a new hope this 2021.

Where do We Go From Here to Heal, Move and Rise Mr. President Elect

 

What Do We Do Now?: A Workbook for the President-Elect , Hess, Stephen  A Workbook for the President-Elect," complete with exercises to fill in and boxes to tick off; but it is also a compelling primer for the average citizen." Frank Gannon, Wall Street Journal.

This unique and daunting process always involves at least some mistakes—in hiring, perhaps, or in policy priorities, or organizational design. Early blunders can carry serious consequences well into a president's term; minimizing them from the outset is critical. In What Do We Do Now? Stephen Hess draws from his long experience as a White House staffer and presidential adviser to show what can be done to make presidential transitions go smoothly. Here is a workbook to guide future chief executives, decision by decision, through the minefield of transition.

I start with this as in the most recent transition in 2016 was a very good example of the failures right from the start of the transition process. This transition is the most consequential and historical one in our lifetime considering the dynamics, demographics and show of election results in the last 2 nights in our elections. From the Miami Cuban and Puerto Rican  Conservative Latinos in Florida citizens fearing  of socialism, to the new Mexican Latinos in Arizona from California more Liberal, to the African American voter turn out's in Georgia and Texas. Another good point to note is on top of the voter's list is a recognition of the racial divide which is now well showcase on how the results of this elections has come to a divided House and Senate.

Whatever the results of the presidential vote on Nov. 3, the time between Election Day and Inauguration Day seems set to be a dark and terrifying 11 weeks in the history of the United States. However, perhaps there’s some comfort to be taken in the fact that we’ve experienced fraught transitions before—and longer ones. To wit: When Abraham Lincoln won the election of 1860 and prepared to take the reins from James Buchanan, who had kept a promise he made in his inaugural address not run for a second term, we suffered through a four-month slog of turmoil, because until the passage of the 20th Amendment in 1933, inaugurations used to take place in March. And during Buchanan’s endless lame-duck period, quite a bit went down: Seven states declared for secession, and Southerners seized forts and garrisons, arming themselves for the war we know now was coming.    Quote from

As we go through the final hours of the last remaining electoral college numbers to get to 270 to solidify our Mr. President Elect, as a nation we should start lowering the temperature and shifting the message to  We should praise whoever concedes as that would make it so much easier to heal and to transition. We should also remember Covid-19 had just reach 100,000 cases. We have to get back to solving the problems on Covid-19 and the stimulus as January 21 is still months from now. Meanwhile, people are sick, cannot pay bills and rent so the sooner a transition gets to work the better while the current administration works on the stimulus.

For Now, Let Us Respect the results, Welcome the President Elect and Thank the President.