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        My blog about current 
​                                 affairs and political stuff ....

Is There a Border Crisis and do we Need a Wall?

1/15/2019

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By Michelle Martin, PhD, MSW
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Trump has been declaring a border crisis since before he announced his presidential candidacy, and he’s now insisting that our national security depends on the construction of a border wall to stem the “invasion” of dangerous immigrants and the flow of dangerous drugs.

Is Trump correct? Has there been a dramatic influx of unlawful entries through our southwest border recently? Do most of the undocumented immigrants entering the country through southwest border have criminal records? Are drugs flooding into our country through the southwest border? And finally, if the answer to all of these questions are yes, will a border wall solve these problems?

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Explaining Donald Trump (and his Supporters)

11/4/2018

 
By Michelle Martin, PhD, MSW
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A unifying chorus on the left and middle asks how in the world anyone could still support Donald Trump and any politician who endorses his behavior and policy stances. A similar collective chorus involves the "why" questions, including why in the world Trump does what he does and says what he says, and why in the WORLD he feels the need to play it all out on Twitter.

I believe I have the answer to these questions, or at least some of them. ​

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U.S. Foreign Policy has Caused the Central American Migrant Caravans

10/23/2018

 
By Michelle Martin, PhD, MSW
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Ever wonder why we’re getting so many waves of desperate Central American migrants coming north to the United States?

The waves began in 1979 following the U.S. intervention in the Nicaraguan Contra War, in an attempt to overthrow the leftist Sandinista government in Nicaragua. The Reagan Administration provided substantial financial and material support for the Contras operating in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, despite reports of vast corruption and mass human rights violations.

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We are all Pro-Life

10/21/2018

 
By Michelle Martin, PhD, MSW
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Dear Pro-Life Folks,

​I feel as though there is a misunderstanding. I keep reading posts online casting all Democrats as having one agenda and one agenda only, and that is to "kill unborn babies."

​This accusation seemed to really peak during the Kavanaugh crisis, with many on the Right accusing those on the Left of using Dr. Christine Blasey Ford to achieve our one great hope: getting Kavanaugh out of the way so we could keep on killing babies.

​Well, this has me very confused. Why? Because being pro-choice has absolutely nothing to do with being pro-abortion.

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Out of the Mouths of Republicans

10/21/2018

 
By  Michelle Martin, PhD, MSW
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I began collecting Republican quotes some time ago because it seemed like every time I heard about some outlandishly  sexist or racist comment made by a politician or other community leader, it always turned out to be a Republican, and just as often,  a self-identified Christian (of the Evangelical kind). So whenever I heard or read about such a comment, I added it to a Word document I kept on my laptop. 

Soon, the list was getting long, with 10, 15, then 20 outrageous comments, that if one didn't know better, might assume were a part of either a propaganda  plot,  or a misguided piece in the Onion. But no, after thorough vetting  the comments, (which most often involved going to  the direct source and reading the comment for myself) the  majority (99.98%) were accurately  reported.  I've posted the list on Facebook and Twitter, and I go back periodically  to update the list as new comments emerge.

This list does not necessarily reflect the attitudes and perspectives of all Republicans, but I do believe they  reflect the increasing shift of the Republican  party  toward the political Right.  Perhaps the GOP has always had sexist and racist strains, particularly due to the party's commitment traditionalism, or perhaps the Republican party has been hijacked by right-wing populism. Regardless,  I present to you members of the GOP:

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Making Sense out of  Kavanaugh

10/2/2018

 
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By Michelle Martin, PhD, MSc, MSW
I don't ever recall feeling such tension in the air as I do right now. I don't ever remember feeling so triggered or seeing so many friends triggered. I don't ever remember going onto Facebook and reading post after post by women disclosing the various ways they've been sexually exploited, harassed, abused and assaulted.

I don't ever remember so much anger. I know many of you, both men and women (probably more men), want this to go away, quickly. It's terrible to live in a state of constant tension like this. Each side is blaming the other for the polarization, and demonizing those who are advocating for their side. I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to name-call, or frame all Republicans as evil, or all Democrats as angels, because they aren't either of those things.

​This isn't as much of a political issue for me as it is a cultural one, with political overtones. So I thought I'd share some of my thoughts on each issue, with the hope that I can contribute to increased clarity, while at the same time validating people's pain. I'm answering both as a woman who has been deeply affected by the Kavanaugh fiasco, as a social worker who has worked with both survivors and perpetrators, as well as an educator/scholar. So here goes:

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We're Not Giving Up

9/25/2018

 
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Forgive me in advance for going all ‘personal’ on you, but it’s been a bad couple of days for democracy and human rights, and therefore it’s been a bad couple of days for me. Usually when I feel discouraged I pick up one of my many non-fiction books on social reformers and immerse myself in their lives and experiences. Reading about past social reform movements gives me hope and perspective.

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I’m Sorry, You Can’t Come In, You Have to Leave

8/16/2018

 
By Michelle Martin, PhD, MSs, MSW
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I’ve been blogging about the humanitarian crisis involving Central American migrant families separated at the U.S. border for months now, and I along with so many others in the United States and around the world, have been trying to find an explanation, some type of rationale for the Trump administration’s handling of the political asylum seekers coming across the southwest border. After reviewing all the pleadings in the federal case filed against the government by the ACLU, as well as many of Trump’s speeches related to immigration, I think I may now have a better understanding. I think I have insight into his and his closest advisors’ perspectives on political asylum; their ultimate, buried-under-the-rhetoric ideology, so to speak.
 
Trump let his real agenda slip out in a recent speech. The scene was the Cabinet Room, a historic meeting room at the White House. The setting, a luncheon with Republican members of Congress. Trump began his speech by referencing the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold his “Muslim ban,” calling it a victory for the Constitution. 
 
Although there is great variation in the opinions of immigration policy experts on the most effective way of managing cross border migration, throughout this speech, Trump presents the immigration debate in simplistically polarized terms: Republican want closed border and low crime, and Democrats want to open the floodgates to gang members and murderers, stating, 

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Why it's so Hard to Change People's Minds about Politics: Finding Facts in an Alt-Fact World

7/20/2018

 
By Michelle Martin, PhD, MSW
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Have you ever had one of those conversations with someone where you try your best to point out the fallacies in his or her argument, and rather than acknowledging the facts, he or she responds with the unchallengeable statement: "I just know what I know, period!"? I sure have, and I have to say, these types of conversations are increasing in frequency, particularly on social media, and they're incredibly frustrating.

The big question I want to address in this blog post is why is it so hard to change someone's mind about something (particularly political issues), when facts exist to prove them wrong? And of course the other way is true as well. Why is it so difficult for us to change our own minds when others come at us with facts to prove us wrong? 

There are many possible answers to this question, and I'm going to share a few of my thoughts on some reasons for our collective stubbornness, and seeming inability to compromise on important issues. My hope is that this post will also shed some light on how it's possible that there is such a gap in how people in this country are perceiving the exact same dynamics and set of events so differently. 

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What about the Children? An Update on the Status of the Central American Families Separated at the Border

7/17/2018

 
By Michelle Martin, PhD, MSW
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There are many questions people are asking about the humanitarian crisis involving the Central American immigrants who were separated from their children at the border in this past year, including 1) Who are the families involved? 2) How are the children being treated? 3) Are there any financial incentives involved in detaining asylum-seekers? 4) Aren’t a lot of these children trafficked? And, 5) Will all the families be reunited?
 
In preparation for writing this blog post, I conducted a considerable amount of research, including reviewing public documents received from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, reading all pleadings in the ACLU lawsuit filed against the government in March 2018 when the separations began, and other relevant documents. This post represents a summary of key issues related to the family separations, as well as outlining the potential path forward. 

Who are the Families Involved?

According to President Trump, the Central American families who were separated from their children at the border are for the most part gang members and other criminals, including murderers. But is this accurate?

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    Dr. Michelle Martin is a social worker, policy specialist and Assistant Professor at California State University, Fullerton in the Department of Social Work, where she teaches social welfare policy, and researches dynamics related to immigrants, political asylum-seekers, refugees and other displaced populations.


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Photos used under Creative Commons from Resa Sunshine, NCinDC, Tony Webster, The Epoch Times, Ninian Reid