While going through my Internet feed, this interesting interview popped up. It was Jimmy Kimmel interviewing former President George W. Bush. You may think it odd to look back on a president reviled by Democrats for launching years of war that cost the lives of so many Americans and changed so little.
But what fascinated me about this interview was the book that former President was selling. It’s a compilation of some of his paintings.
Its title, Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants.
It is described as:
“A collection of portraits and stories celebrating the resilience and contributions of immigrants to America.”
George W. Bush’s brother Jeb is married to Columba Garnico Galla (Bush), who was born in León, Guanajuato, Mexico. They have three children and four grandchildren, all of whom share her Mexican descent.
Neither George nor Jeb has ever endorsed Trump (although Jeb’s son, George P. Bush, has). None of the Bush family has denounced Trump’s vile characterizations of Mexican-Americans or his orders to ICE to deport them, as brutally as necessary.
Mexican-Americans and other immigrants that George W. Bush celebrated in his book are living in fear and snatched away from their jobs, their homes, and their families.
Wouldn’t it be great if George or Jeb or other members of the Bush family spoke out against Trump’s vicious attacks on our immigrant neighbors?
Deport “the worst of the worst,” as Trump promised, and give the others a path to citizenship.

Trump’s little Goebels, Stephen Miller, puts all immigrants in a basket, those who are criminals (actually a much smaller portion than anyone is willing to admit) are little different to Miller than those who are just desperate migrants from dysfunctional political situations. Trump enjoys blaming the immigrants for everything from the housing shortage to the price of ducks in China.
I do not understand The Bush silence. I have never understood how Bush II stood by and watched Trump beat HRC and transform his idea of what a Republican Party looked like without saying a word. Jeb could have actually ruined the prospect of a Trump presidency by running as an independent in 2016, splitting the vote and marginalizing Trump. But no, they backed this monstrosity whose politics now threatens the future of representative government in America. They will live in infamy.
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To hear Trump’s people try to blame our problems on immigrants is like reading a comic book. They claim too many immigrants are causing the housing shortage and high prices when the more likely culprit is private equity buying up inventory in various markets. The latest is that immigrants brought in sick cows thereby causing a shortage of beef and rising prices. The fact is inflated feed prices and a smaller consumer demand for beef are the likely cause. These people invent false, biased narratives and just stand in front of everyone and lie.
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my farmer friends say a drought in Texas is behind the shortage of beef.
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In a nutshell, to confirm what I had researched before, AI told me this (a summary). It also confirmed what most of my students’s families told me. Key Takeaways from the Comparison
In summary, the financial relationship of undocumented workers with the U.S. government is defined by massive contribution and minimal access to benefits. For poor whites and other low-income citizens, the relationship is defined by lesser contribution and full access to a robust social safety net. The groups are not in the same position, and therefore, a direct “dollar-for-dollar” comparison of their “benefits” is misleading. The real comparison is between a group that subsidizes a system it can’t use and a group that the system is designed to support.
Probably preaching to the choir, but it is worth stating facts over and over again.
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What you suggested, Diane would, indeed, “be great.” (But let’s not all hold our collective breath.) I will, however, never forget the muttered thought that was attributed to George W. when he attended the it45 inauguration, “This is some weird s**t!”
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