I don't publish my Substack every day, I don't write about the same stuff dozens of others are writing—I don't want to echo what they have already written. I write about issues in two ways: first, I write about an issue I have thoroughly researched, and I include all the reference links, as these messages must be based on facts. Second, I write when the issue affects me and my town and when it is personal. Today, it is personal.
I live in a small mountain community that is on the wealthy side of the economic structure. Most of the residents in this tourist town are not hurting for money; if they are here and not financially secure, they are workers, and if they are workers, they don't live here. I say that to give you a perspective on the population and their interaction with the whole of America.
The world we live in is different for each of us, and the events of the day affect how we react. Today, we have many, often polarizing issues. One of which is, does the rule of law stop us from deporting people thought to be criminals, or are they entitled to Due Process? Another is, with prices as they are, how can I care for my family, and can I support tariffs that will cause prices to increase and make it harder for me to care for my own?
People’s opinions and actions are obviously more influenced by what affects them personally. If you are a family struggling to pay the bills, then prices are your trigger point, and rightfully so. If you are on Wall Street, the Markets are your trigger Point. Just because these issues affect you the most does not mean you should be indifferent to the other influences and how they affect others.
My case in point. I live in a rich area; I am on the working side of the populace, trying to find once again the financial security that I lost –that is an entirely different story for another time. But my background, my world, is made from seventy years of interactions with people and classes of all types, ages, races, fiscal status, political status, and affiliations. Hence, ‘My World' encompasses a wide breadth of social experience. I am influenced by that experience, which has raised my conscience and caring for others. Below is how ‘My World’ is affected by today’s events. I don’t have wealth, so prices are important to me, and the financial markets are not. I am not overly religious and am not immediately affected by someone’s immigration status just how they live, work and obey the law, so these issues have less influence on me. I have seen racial and sexual injustice up close and personal, and I am highly influenced by anything that takes away their rights and opportunities.
My world is complex. As I have written, today, we have many, often polarizing issues, one of which is the recent deportation of Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador. The White House published their justification along with supporting statements from a dozen politicians. The White House justified the action by citing the Alien Enemies Act, which grants power to the President to detain or deport nationals of an enemy nation during wartime or an invasion. We are not at war. The opposition to this action is from the judicial branch and the people.
Allow me to make two comments on the President's action. First, the Enemy Alien Act was used during World War II to round up and incarcerate law-biding Japanese American citizens solely because they looked like the enemy. It was so against the foundation principles of the United States that President Reagan officially apologized to the surviving members of that tragic chapter of American history.
My second point is that there was no Due Process for these “criminals” and, therefore, no guarantee that they deserved to be arrested and deported without a trial. As it turns out, one of those rounded has no criminal record. Franco José Caraballo Tiapa, 26, is from Venezuela and entered the U.S. in 2023, requesting asylum from persecution back home was taken without a warrant and deported to one of the worst prisons in the world. He was taken without Due Process. Now, how do we get him back?
There is an outcry that this man deserved Due Process, and that all of them deported were entitled to Due Process. My position is that I AM DESERVING OF DUE PROCESS; I need it for myself and my family it is their right. This is my country; this is a country with standards of laws people died to protect, and now one rich, power-hungry, want-to-be king is tearing down 250 years of building a legal system of justice for all. Take away the rights from one; you take them away for all of us.
It is a sad commentary that we as a people are turning our backs on the Rule of Law. I sat today with a group of very good people; they are predominantly wealthy, older, white men whose backgrounds do not include struggle and whose primary focus is wealth. Their world has very few circles of influence, which is clear by their reaction to two recent issues.
When some people started burning Teslas in protest of Elon Musk, an action which I personally deplore as the destruction of some innocent person's property to make a point is tragic, illegal, and cannot be condoned, a few of the people in the group wanted it to continue. They see it as a business opportunity. If they continue to protest, Elon Musk's company stock price will continue to fall; they can buy at a low price, and when the stock eventually rebounds, they will make a fortune. Today was another eye-opening day for me. We continued a discussion of the deportation, to which I added the news that at least one of the men was not a criminal and, even by the White House standard, should not have been sent. I expected some acknowledgment of the error on the government's part, but what I got was, "It's war, it's justified."
For the record, war is declared by Congress, not by an orange, fat man with power issues. What happened to the separation of powers? Where are the Congressional leaders who have the power and responsibility to stop this assault on the Constitution?
The Declaration of Independence states, “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends (Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness), it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…". Is this how we will have to go to save our nation?
The Office of the President of the United States is all about Honor and Integrity, and Donald Trump had none. Thus, ends the lesson.