It is a dark, dark time

This holiday, I am grieving over the loss of my country and the values for which it once stood.

It is a dark, dark time. The evil and sadism of this country’s administration over the last 12 months have been exhausting and soul-crushing. It’s disheartening, too, to know that that destruction is only going to endure, even increase, for the next three years, if not longer.

In times of trouble, one retreats into their faith for understanding and the values of that faith. I’ve been reminded over the past year of my cherishing of the values that this country once stood for: That all of us are created equal and are deserving of life, liberty, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness; that we have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people; and that we practice and promote kindness, decency, and respect for all people.

I hope that one day we may return as a people to those values.

Stuart Bechman, Simi Valley

Posted on Ventura County Star News

Justice Department drafting a list of ‘domestic terrorists’

The federal government war on those who do not conform to Donald Trump’s vision of America.  That vision is to denounce all those opposing him and calling them domestic terrorists. The GOP quietly goes along with Trump’s vision of a country where all who oppose his objectives must be silenced.  That means no free press.

Following the news report highlighted on the front page of the Los Angeles Times and reported elsewhere.

WASHINGTON — Justice Department leadership has directed the FBI to “compile a list of groups or entities engaged in acts that may constitute domestic terrorism” by the start of next year, and to establish a “cash reward system” that incentivizes individuals to report on their fellow Americans, according to a memo reviewed by The Los Angeles Times.

Law enforcement agencies are directed in the memo, dated Dec. 4, to identify “domestic terrorists” who use violence, or the threat of violence, to advance political and social agendas, including “adherence to radical gender ideology, anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, or anti-Christianity.”

Although the memo does not mention protests against President Trump’s immigration crackdown directly, it says that problematic “political and social agendas” could include “opposition to law and immigration enforcement, extreme views in favor of mass migration and open borders.”

The memo also outlines what it says are causes of domestic terrorist activity, including “hostility towards traditional views on family, religion, and morality.”

“Federal law enforcement will prioritize this threat. Where federal crime is encountered, federal agents will act,” the memo states.

No Reverse Migration

As reported by the Associated Press, President Donald Trump says he wants to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations and is promising to seek to expel millions of immigrants from the United States by revoking their legal status. He is blaming immigrants for problems from crime to housing shortages as part of “social dysfunction” in America and demanding “REVERSE MIGRATION.”

What happened to the words on the Statue of Liberty?  “Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” is inscribed on a plaque on the pedestal inside the statue, not on the tablet itself.

Everyone in America except native Americans are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants. Immigrants made the United States what it is today. Donald Trump’s Reverse Migration idea is opposition to what has made America great. The wordsmiths who are the columnist for our newspapers will write about this more elegantly than me.

You Can’t Buy anything for a Penny

The last pennies were struck at the mint in Philadelphia, where the country’s smallest denomination coins have been produced since 1793.

The Canadian penny is a 1-cent coin that is no longer in circulation, with production ending in 2012 and distribution ceasing in 2013. While cash transactions are now rounded to the nearest 5 cents, pennies can still be used for payment and are available for collectors. They were first issued in 1858 and their design has varied over the years, but the reverse typically features maple leaves.