What’s a nice Jewish progressive protesting

I love a good protest.  In college it did not matter the season or the reason.  I was there with my father’s army jacket, my red arm band and a sign.  Tear gas and clubs and cocked shotguns never bothered me much.  Just say the word Nixon or Johnson or abortion rights or the Equal Rights Amendment and you could count me in.  However as I have gotten older and grayer, but maybe not wiser, it takes a lot to get me out in the crowd.  I am amazed that all the progressives have recently been out  in force supporting unfettered immigration from our southern neighbors and poorly vetted visitors from the most tumultuous regions of the Middle East and North Africa.  Even if the plan is a temporary resetting (with better results than the Russian reset) of the entire immigration process, you would think that Americans will embrace people from seven failed states that historically terrorize gays and repress women’s bodies and their rights .   I am amused by Starbuck’s Howard Schultz wanting to hire refugees instead of veterans or challenged fellow citizens.  I mean if you want to get a $5.00 cup of coffee, why not Turkish coffee in murky water.

However, if you want outrage, how about some marches and signs about our neighbor only 90 miles away, Cuba. President Obama by executive order negotiated a renormalization of relations with the Castro brothers (and now there is one) and their repressive, freedom hating regime.  He did not extract one concession about a move toward democracy or an ending to suppressing dissent.  As a matter of fact when we reopened our embassy, John Kerry did not have the courage or decency to invite anyone from the protest movement.  Instead there was an increase in arrests.   This is a government that killed thousands, tortured tens of thousands and has an island living in poverty (but they have good health care as per Michael Moore and Bernie Sanders).  Cuba has also exported violence and terrorism to Angola, Venezuela and to other areas in the South American continent.  They also give safe haven to Russia who now can hack us from up close and personal.

But the best of all surprises was held for the last week of President Obama’s time in office. As an executive order he stopped the one foot on dry land doctrine of the past thirty plus years. In the past those who braved the trip on rafts, tires or anything that floated would be welcomed as a refugee and granted a visa if they could put one foot on dry land. No more.  For the low, low price of nothing in return, President Obama ordered immigration officials to send back all Cuban nationals unless they have the required visa. We send them back to this brutal government without any assurances that they would be given safe passage and not beaten, tortured or killed on forced repatriation. Such a deal. Not only that but hundreds of Cubans on our southern border who were making the journey through Central America are now being returned by Mexico and other governments since there is no safe haven anymore in the U.S.

Maybe I missed the optic but did Chuck Schumer wipe a tear from the Statue of Liberty? Has any university said we will take all Cubans and give them sanctuary? Is San Francisco and New York threatening non compliance with the policy?   I mean this is a protest waiting to happen.   You do not even have to put on your winter coats and brave the cold.  Go to Miami and visit your parents and spend a day at Miami Airport with a sign “Cubans We Welcome You.”   “President Obama, This is not America”   Where are my brothers at the ACLU with their immediate stays and appeals.  Such a shame.  I guess outrage is truly in the eyes of the protester.