Last Sunday, after I got done with the Sunday shows, I watched Marcus Samuelsson's new PBS food show, "No Passport Required" highlighting the foods and entrepreneurship of immigrants to this country. The episode, a segment I've embedded above, focused on the Guyanese population in Queens, NY. Initially, I was interested because my niece lives there. I was pretty unfamiliar with Guyanese culture. But the more I looked at it, the more I realized how fascinating it is. Off the coast of South America, Guyana is a blend of Hispanic, Caribbean, African, Indian, Chinese and Portuguese cultures; basically a story of colonialism and immigration. And deep, deep poverty. So families have immigrated to the US to better their situations and children's futures. One of the participants in the show describe how he was left as a young teen to care for his siblings for eight years until his mother could afford to bring them here.
If it happened now, they would be incarcerated in detention centers, thanks to the Trump administration. They likely would not be eligible to be reunited with their mother, who would be deemed a unacceptable parent for "abandoning" them to seek a better life for them.
And beyond the obvious tragedy there, it's another tragedy in the loss that is to the culture here. These are people who want to make a life, to have success and put in long hours working and contributing to the economy. Sure, their skin is darker than the bulk of the GOP, but these aren't people to be afraid of. These are people to celebrate for the way they embrace the American Dream.
Too bad the nimrods in charge in DC are too fearful and too stupid to see it.
ABC's "This Week" — Jay Sekulow, member of President Donald Trump's legal team; Govs. John Kasich, R-Ohio, and Jay Inslee, D-Wash. Panel: former Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J.; Amanda Carpenter, author of “Gaslighting America: Why We Love It When Trump Lies To Us”; Michelle Cottle, New York Times editorial writer; and Patrick Gaspard, former Obama White House political affairs director.
NBC's "Meet the Press" — Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Republican strategist Mike Murphy; Clint Watts, distinguished research fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and author of “Messing With The Enemy.” Panel: Republican strategist Al Cardenas; Helene Cooper of The New York Times; Eliana Johnson of Politico; and Robert Costa of PBS’ “Washington Week.”
CBS' "Face the Nation" — Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president; Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; Arne Duncan, former education secretary. Panel: Mark Landler of The New York Times, Seung Min Kim of The Washington Post, Paula Reid of CBS and Leslie Sanchez, CBS News political contributor.
CNN's "State of the Union" — Reps. Ed Royce, R-Calif.; former Gov. Deval Patrick, D-Mass. Panel: Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-Calif.; former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.; Bill Kristol of The Weekly Standard; and Democratic strategist Karen Finney, former senior spokesperson for Hillary for America.
CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" — Luis Videgaray Caso, Mexico’s secretary of foreign affairs; Thomas Erdbrink, Tehran bureau chief for The New York Times; Stephanie Kelton, professor of economics and public policy at Stony Brook University and former economic adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders; and Annette Insdorf, filmmaker.
CNN's "Reliable Sources" — Susan Glasser of The New Yorker; Margaret Talev of Bloomberg; Anthony Scaramucci, former Trump White House communications director; Joe Lockhart, former Clinton White House press secretary; David Leonhardt of The New York Times; and Kim Masters of The Hollywood Reporter.
"Fox News Sunday" — Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; White House National Security Adviser John Bolton; Cody Wilson, director of Defense Distributed. Panel: Karl Rove, former Bush White House senior adviser; Jason Riley of the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board; Susan Page of USA Today; and political consultant Philippe Reines, former senior adviser to Hillary Clinton.
So, what's catching your eye this morning?
