Republicans Can't Do Math

The Republican Party has a lot of problems, but it’s biggest problem is that they can’t do math.  I will just assume that if you’re reading this, you know what demographics means, and that you can understand numbers.  I did just a tiny bit of research and this is what I found.

People are constantly coming and going in the U.S.  There are immigrants coming in, Americans leaving for other countries, babies being born, old folks dying, growing industries offering jobs, obsolete industries losing them, and lots of people getting tired of shoveling snow.  The question is, are Red states losing more population (read votes) or are Blue states?  Here are some quotes from www.governing.com - so you can check it out yourself.

“And while other states offset domestic population losses with increases in international migration, Maine and Vermont haven’t seen the same influx of the foreign born.”

Since the 2012 election, Florida, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada all gained in population.  “Arizona grew to top Massachusetts as the 14th largest state.  Demographers predict the growing numbers of minorities in Arizona could eventually turn the state from red to blue.”

“In general, Democrats see a 2016 advantage in the fact that many of these states (those growing in population) are gaining minorities who traditionally lean disproportionally toward Democratic candidates.”

So, it makes no sense at all for Republicans to alienate immigrants who are moving to Red states.  That will only help turn that state to Blue.  Which then means that Republicans lose even more states to Democrats.

“Almost a third of Florida’s new residents were immigrants, with Census Bureau estimates released this fall showing Cuba as the top source recently.” (Not Mexico.)

“Republicans won North Carolina in 2012 by about a 2% margin, but an influx of African-Americans there in recent years make Democrats hopeful they can capture it in 2016.”  Republicans should be very, very careful not to insult and denigrate these voters.

And, just to demonstrate how out of touch the Republicans are, “. . . California’s biggest source of immigrants for 2011-2014 combined are China and Taiwan, at 73,000 people; India, at 61,000; and the Philippines, a 42,000 people.  About 24,000 people came from Mexico, just slightly more than the number from Vietnam.” 

Because of the mathematics, it looks as though the Democrats will easily have enough electoral votes to win the White House.  And Republicans, who knew four years ago that they needed to court these immigrants, have gone the other way.  Now that’s just stupid.

Only Guns Matter

On the CBS news tonight there were two videos that showed police officers exhibiting violent attacks on people with absolutely no provocation.  (http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/austin-officers-investigated-for-disturbing-arrest-video/) (http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/21/us/miami-officer-involved-shooting/index.html)  (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/07/21/fla-police-shoot-black-man-with-his-hands-up-as-he-tries-to-help-)  It's hard to judge which is the most outrageous - the man lying on the ground with his hands in the air, who still got shot by the officer; or the one where the officer threw a slight, 120 lb. woman to the ground not once, but twice, after a traffic stop.  There is no report that she threatened this police officer with a gun or other weapon.  Her only weapon was the color of her skin.  The health-care worker stretched full-length on the pavement tried explaining that he presented no danger to the officer. We can hear his words on the video.  He asked the officer later, "Why did you shoot me?"  The officer's answer?  "I don't know."

What in the world has happened to law enforcement?

I think the answer is that the Republican party in conjunction with the NRA has encouraged every American to carry a gun.  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/13/nra-weakened-gun-control-laws)  States have open-carry laws where a police officer has no idea whether the person with a weapon is a "good guy" or a "bad guy." (http://blogs.wsj.com/numbers/map-where-is-open-carry-legal-1715/)  Even Chiefs of Police have spoken up against open-carry, saying that it makes their job much more difficult.  (http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-dallas-chief-20160711-snap-story.html)  Years ago, when an officer stopped someone for speeding or running a stop sign, they didn't really have to worry much that the driver might pull out a Glock and start shooting.  Now they do.  When law enforcement is operating in fear of their lives, they preempt violence with more violence.  The rule now is "shoot first, ask questions later."

Unfortunately, sometimes the weapon carried by a 12-year-old turns out to be a toy.  And chances are the murderer - and, make no mistake, this child was murdered - will never face any consequences.  (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/us/in-tamir-rice-shooting-in-cleveland-many-errors-by-police-then-a-fatal-one.html?_r=0)  Because he is a protected class - the ones who wear a uniform and a badge.  There are a myriad of reasons why law enforcement officers are not charged and convicted, even when a video exists that shows unarmed men being shot in the back while running away from the officer. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2015/04/11/thousands-dead-few-prosecuted/)

If you are still naive enough to listen to politicians for information, you will hear that all the violence we see on the evening news is due to ISIS.  That in some way it's all related to terrorism.  This is the coward's reasoning.  If you can blame the death of so many Americans on some foreign entity in a turban, then you do not have to face the consequences of your own inaction.  So many times Congress has been asked to take even one small step for our country, one small step to keep assault weapons out of the hands of those who want to kill.  But no, the problem is ISIS.

Therefore, those susceptible to persuasion begin to believe that every time they leave their house some crazed Muslim is going to start spraying their local Starbucks with armor-piercing bullets shot from an AR-15.  So they need to buy an AR-15 so they can shoot back and not hit any innocent person, but only the dark-skinned madman.

Finally, it seems that "Black Lives Don't Matter," "Blue Lives Don't Matter,"  "Gay Lives Don't Matter," "First Grade Lives Don't Matter," "Bible Study Member Lives Don't Matter," "College Student Lives Don't Matter," "Movie Goer Lives Don't Matter".  Only "Guns Matter."

Truth Will Reveal Itself

The truth will always make itself known.  When I was younger and less wise and patient, I would argue my point of view or my opinion to the point of being extremely annoying.  I finally realized that this was a non-productive approach, especially with my husband and children.  I know people now who haven't figured this out and it's frustrating to have a conversation when we don't totally agree on everything.

I wish I could convince the Republicans in Washington to back away, wait and see, and have faith that if "Obamacare" is as dangerous as they think it is, the truth will become obvious in a very short while.  And, if they are right, the people will be marching in the streets for changes or repeal.  However, if they are wrong and everyone is happy with the Affordable Care Act, then they can hope no one remembers how wrong they were.

So, next time you find yourself arguing about something, stop and ask yourself if this is something that you can trust truth to reveal itself.