Pay Attention!

I think it is respectful to stand and pay attention to the playing of the national anthem, whether at an athletic event, a concert, or any public gathering at which the national anthem is played.

I think it is permissible for those who question their loyalty to the United States to protest the playing of the national anthem; however, not if that protest interferes with others' right to honor the nation by standing respectfully during the playing of the anthem. Athletes taking a knee or standing with their arms intertwined is okay, but not talking during the playing of the anthem and/or disrupting the event for other people participating in it.

What I think is not okay is the President of the United States of America trying to dictate what is correct and what is not when it comes to the national anthem. His comments are rude, inappropriate, and unnecessary, and don't add to the discussion of what taking a knee and/or standing with arms intertwined means to the people who are taking that action.

Twitter should delete the President's account as he obviously is using it as a his personal messaging service to the world, and he doesn't think before he tweets. Think "Rocket Man" and then how such a thoughtless remark could literally lead to world war.

Enough is enough and I cannot imagine another 3 years of this. I'm taking a knee on President Trump.

Immigration Dreamers

It seems to me that there is a simple solution for the Dreamers issue: within the next 12 months, all undocumented immigrants living in the US must apply for and receive American citizenship.

Just because you've lived in a country illegally does not mean that you can continue to do that with impunity because you birthed children during your illegal residence. There are consequences of illegal conduct, including illegally entering a country and staying there at risk of deportation.

If the Dreamers are under age, of course they have to return to their parents' country of origin: we are not going to develop small cities of apartments and care-takers to raise the children of illegal immigrants. When their parents apply for and are granted citizenship, the younger children can come back to the US with them.

Is this a good solution? Of course not, but it's actionable. The US did not create this problem, so it really doesn't have responsibility for fixing it. The law is fairly clear on illegal immigrants: they are deported. The law is fairly clear on legal citizens: born in the USA/stay in the USA.