I don’t really care, Margaret.

I think this is my favorite JD moment so far. Margaret Brennan apparently wanted to play journalist and attempted to take down VP Vance in a sit-down conversation. She brought up immigration, which should be a hard-hitting topic right now. Unfortunately for her, she’s not nearly as good at this game as Vance is, and the bottom line is she’s arguing for keeping violent criminals in the country. Not a good look for her.

From the interview:

Vance: ‘We absolutely cannot unleash thousands of unvetted people into our country…’

Brennen: ‘These people are vetted. These people are vetted. Uh…’

Vance: ‘Just like the guy who planned a terrorist attack in Oklahoma a few months ago? He was allegedly properly vetted, and many people in media and the Democratic Party said that he was properly vetted. Clearly he wasn’t. I don’t wan’t my children to share a neighborhood with people who are not properly vetted, and because I don’t want it for my kids, I’m not going to force any other American citizens’ kids to do that either.’

Brennen: ‘No, and that was a very particular case, it wasn’t clear whether he was radicalized when he got here, um, or, when he was living h-“

Vance: ‘I don’t really care, Margaret, I don’t want that person in my country, and I think most Americans agree with me.’

And that’s a wrap. Brennen tried and failed to make Vance look foolish. Her point was to make him stutter, to call on his faith as a Catholic and shame him, and he had absolutely NONE of it. Instead, he brazenly told her that he was ashamed by the American Council of Bishops, which was an impressive thing to say, in my opinion.

Another question being asked on social media is, what do you tell your kids if one of their friends is swept up by ICE while they’re in school? I’ve heard several good answers, mostly snarky, but my favorite was honest and polite, and went something like this:

“Honey, I’m sorry your friend was taken away. If they are here legally, it will take a day or two for the paperwork to sort out, and your friend will be right back to school. ICE agents can be scary, but they’re very gentle with children, and they won’t hurt your friend. But if your friend’s parents are here illegally, then I’m afraid you might not see that friend again. I know that’s hard, and it isn’t your friend’s fault, but there are consequences to actions. Just like you have consequences to your actions when you do something bad, your friend’s parents might have done something bad. They aren’t being punished like you, but they do have to go back to their home country. That’s the consequence of their actions.” (from Not the Bee)

I like this one because it addresses the child’s fear and concern, brings up the topic of actions and consequences (which most school age kids can understand, at least at a basic level), and assures them that the friend won’t be harmed. The only thing I’d suggest beyond that is, if a friend is taken away, try to get mailing information so that you can stay in touch. That makes it easier on BOTH kids, and perhaps they can learn things from one another by writing back and forth.

Illegal immigration wasn’t as big a problem 30 years ago. Back then, we had better migrant visas (so yes, migrants can and do legally come and pick our fruits and vegetables, then they go home and live like kings the rest of the year with good American dollars in their pockets). We had a less grueling and yet much more effective vetting system in place. And we were still encouraging new folks who came into the country to meet up with others like themselves and have a host family or someone to help them acclimate to American living. To me, these are necessary things. People coming into the country need to be checked so we know we aren’t letting in pedophiles and junkies, and that the people arriving are interested in becoming American citizens. This is America. We can celebrate different cultures, enjoy hundreds of different kinds of delicious foods, and still be 100% American.

It’s amazing to me, watching hundreds (maybe thousands) of people flood south across the border into Mexico. Their trucks are full, and they are leaving now so they don’t get caught up in immigration sweeps. I understand… having not been arrested for illegal immigration, they have a better chance of coming back to America in the future. And that’s not a bad thing.

I love that Trump and Vance are focusing on merit based everything. For too long, we’ve been catering to the lowest common denominator, and it has been a failing strategy for America as a whole. We need to be uplifting those who excel, promoting them and helping them reach for the stars, so that they can bring America along with them. When we lift up those who succeed, when we spend money on helping them go as far as they can, we also make space for those who struggle. Getting out of the way of “the smart kids” and letting them do their thing means we can have teachers work with the kids who are failing, and hopefully teach them ways to reach for the stars, too.

We are starting out our next four years with our eyes on a prize, and the bar is set HIGH… as it should be. We may not get as far as we are dreaming about, but by dreaming big, we get much farther than by giving up. And that’s what I saw happen with the Biden administration. They gave up. They also mis-read what Americans want… badly. There’s a reason Trump won by as much as he did. Time to work our asses off, to recognize the hard work some people put in by using them as good examples.