Rampant Bigotry

   Many Americans complain of immigrants, and many members of the Republican Party insist that some of their Democratic foes do not meet the Constitutional rule that says a presidential candidate must be a "native born" citizen.
   (Not so. It says "natural born." More later.)
   But GOP partisans don't complain if a Republican does not meet that rule. For example, many Republicans urge Arnold Schwarzenegger to run for President. But he rejected that proposal, knowing that he was born and raised in Austria and became a U.S. citizen after coming to America and succeeding in Hollywood roles.
   In contrast, GOP partisans insist that Democrat Kamala Harris, the current vice president, is not eligible for that office because she is the daughter of two immigrants. But her parents became U.S. citizens and she was born in California, thus meeting the qualification "natural born" citizen for two reasons -- parental citizenship and place of birth.
   But partisans said nothing about candidate Ted Cruz, currently a senator from Texas, who was born in Canada to a Cuban father. His mother, however, was an American citizen, so he qualified for "natural born" citizenship for that reason.
   Now to explain the difference between "natural born" and "native born."
   "Native born" means born in the United States or one of its territories, regardless of parental citizenship.
   "Natural born" means at least one parent was an American citizen, so place of birth was not relevant. That's why children born in another country to an American parent inherit American citizenship. Example: Children of American military personnel or some other kind of visitor.
   Also, many Japanese women come to California late in their pregnancies so their new child will be born in America, and thus hold U.S. citizenship.
   Many prominent business and political leaders are themselves immigrants, such as Andrew Carnegie, who was born and raised in Scotland, and came to America as an adult, where he made his fortune.
   Or consider Donald Trump, whose grandfather came to America from Germany. And the former vice president married an immigrant -- twice.
   Or consider former President John F. Kennedy and current President Joe Biden, both of whose ancestors came from Ireland.
   As for former President Barack Obama, he was born in Hawaii and his mother was a native of Kansas. You don't get more American than that.
   And consider this: Every President was descended from immigrants, beginning with George Washington.
   So what's to stop an American citizen born of Iroquois or Mohawk ancestry from becoming President?
   Nothing. Such a candidate would qualify on both counts. Natural born and native born.
   Conclusion: The only ones who complain about ancestry as a qualification for the highest office in America are typically members of the Republican Party.
   What does that tell you about bigotry?
   By the way, the people of Puerto Rico hold American citizenship for the same two reasons as those born in Kansas, Guam or the Virgin Islands. Puerto Rico is part of the United States of America, and has been since the end of the Spanish-American War more than  a hundred years ago.

Political Hypocrisy

   Hypocrisy is rampant in the American political system.
   So what else is new?
   Republicans complain loudly about what they say is illegal and immoral activity among Democrats and especially the Biden family.
   They talk at length about allegations of drug use and gun possession by the President's son. Not by the President himself, but by his only remaining son, Hunter. The older son, a former military officer, died of cancer.
   But that's not relevant.
   As for drug use and gun possession, millions of other Americans die yearly of illegal drug use and illegal gun possession is rampant nationwide. Hunter Biden acquired his weapon legally, but as soon as it was determined that he also had a narcotics issue and it was made public, he got rid of the gun only a few days after he acquired it.
   As for other allegedly illegal business activities, no evidence has been presented that his father, the current President, was a participant in any way.
   That seems to be the worst that GOP opponents have to launch against Joe Biden.
   On the other hand, it's useful to compare these allegations against those formally filed against Donald Trump, the ex-president and hero of many Republicans.
   Trump was impeached twice while in office (but not convicted) and indicted four times in both federal and state jurisdictions, for a total of 91 charges.
   His lawyers now ask the Supreme Court of the United States to decide whether a President -- current or former -- is above the law.
   Or so also said Richard Nixon.
   The Supreme Court disagreed, and Nixon resigned. Within days, his duly appointed successor issued a pardon. But that only covered federal offenses, not state.
   Donald Trump now faces multiple allegations in several states as well as two federal charges.
   The question to SCOTUS is now whether a President -- present or former -- is above the law.
   If so, that would also apply to four former Presidents still with us -- Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George Bush Jr. and Barack Obama -- three of them Democrats.
   That means they also could ignore the law. Or does it apply only to former Democrat presidents?
   Finally, that leaves unanswered the issue of whether state laws can also be ignored.
   We live in interesting times.

Outlandish

   Some two dozen major regions have "land" as part of their names -- half of them in Europe. Others include regions in Asia and America as well as the Pacific.
   Beginning with Scotland, Ireland and England, whose names reflect their populations, there are others named after their climate or geography,
   These are, of course, the Scots, the Irish and the Anglo-Saxons. Then there are the Jutes of Jutland, the Germans of Deutschland, and those who live in the Highlands (Hochland or Holland) and the Netherlands (Lowlands) of the nearby nation.
   Also in Europe, there are Finland, Lapland, Switzerland and Poland, plus Greenland, Iceland and Newfoundland as people crossed the Atlantic Ocean.
   In addition, there is Maryland in America, Thailand and Swaziland in Asia and Africa, as well as Baffin Island and others that likewise separate their names. These include Long Island, the Mariana Islands, Solomon Islands and the Marshall Islands.
   And we must not forget Zealand in Scandinavia, whose ancestors gave their name to New Zealand in the South Pacific.

Twelve Mandrakes

   In 1812, Gov. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts mandated that Essex County divide itself into 12 districts for his party's electoral advantage.
   Boston Gazette cartoonist Elkand Tisdale then drew a map of the 12 new districts, adding wings so it looked like a mandrake.
   Thus began the term "Gerrymander."
   The power of 12 lives on.   

Perspective

   The State of Israel is about the size of the State of New Jersey. Population size is similar.

   The Gaza Strip is about half the size of New Jersey's Camden County, just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. But Camden County has triple the population of Gaza. At least, it did before the war started and Palestinians either left the region or died from bombing.

   Here are the numbers:

   Israel has a population of 7.4 million people in a area of 8,522 square miles. New Jersey houses 8.7 million people in 8,721 square miles.

   The Gaza Strip sits on 139 square miles, with a population of 1.5 million when last counted. That was before war started.

   That compares to 227 square miles in Camden County, which has a population of 525,000 people, one-third that of Gaza.

   All of which leads an observer to ask why American news media have lessened coverage of the war in Ukraine, and devoted much of their time to the conflict in the Middle East.

   What of the wars in Africa? Or the poverty and violence in Venezuela, which sends people to seek refuge and opportunity in America?

   So the question becomes, why do news media focus on one or a few issues and ignore others?

   One answer is that all news is local, and journalism media carry reports of interest to their viewers and readers.

   Example: Toronto news media seldom carry many reports of what the Philadelphia city council is doing. And vice versa.

   All news is local.

 

Winners and Losers

   "When I use a word, I means just what I choose it to mean." -- Humpty Dumpty.
   "How can you make a word mean so many different things?" -- Alice.
   "The question is, who is to be master." -- Humpty Dumpty.

   What do words mean?
   As Humpty Dumpty insisted, his words mean what he says they mean, so you can't know what they mean until he explains what they mean.
   Say what?
   Why not say up front what you mean? That will save you the trouble of explaining what you could have said the first time.
   Unless you don't know what you're going to say until you say it. Politicians do that often, which leaves them the opportunity of "explaining" what they "really meant" to those they claim are "ignorant reporters" and blame them for any negative reaction from voters.
   Lawyers argue over the meanings of words, and they try to bend a meaning until it supports their client's behavior.
   For lawyers, the goal is to win. Doing what's right is a separate issue, and not relevant to their goal.
   Politicians have a similar goal. Their task is to win. To defeat the opposition and thereby gain for themselves.
   Sometimes, it matters not that both sides have the same goal. Their task is to defeat the other side so they can claim credit for any accomplishment, even if the results would be the same no matter who arranged them.