The Sentinel: Viewpoints

Viewpoint |
Immigrants are our neighbors, isn't that enough?

by Jocelyn Smith
OtherWords

I recall seeing a sign in a yard in my small hometown of around 12,000 residents. “No matter where you are from,” it said, “we’re glad you are our neighbor.”

It was positioned defiantly, facing a Trump sign that had been plunged into the neighbor’s yard across the street. It poignantly illustrated the tensions in my rural Ohio town, which — like many similar communities — has experienced a rapid influx of immigrants over the last 20 years.

The sign’s sentiment was simple yet profound. I found myself wondering then, as I wonder now, when compassion had become so complicated. It seems everyone has become preoccupied arguing over the minutiae of immigration that they’ve missed the most glaring and essential point: We are neighbors.

Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, a truth so widely acknowledged that it bridges the ever-growing partisan divide.

While writing this piece, I gathered studies and prepared a detailed analysis of the ways immigrants have transformed and revitalized the economies of the Rust Belt. I was going to explain how immigrants have helped fill vacant housing and industry in this region’s shrinking cities to reverse the toll of population decline.

I gathered statistics showing the economic growth and revitalization that’s happened as immigrants have brought flourishing small businesses to their new communities. Like: Despite making up only around 14 percent of the U.S. population, immigrants own 18 percent of small businesses with employees — and nearly a quarter of small businesses without employees. (And immigrants in Rust Belt cities are even more likely to be entrepreneurs.)

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American holiday efficiency, a three-for-one on June 14

Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, a truth so widely acknowledged that it bridges the ever-growing partisan divide. Both Vice President JD Vance and former Vice President Kamala Harris have promoted the critical role of small businesses in economic flourishing.

I was going to tell a story about Joe, a vendor at my local flea market. He and other vendors were heavily averse to migrants purchasing the dilapidated building from the previous owner. Now they laud the building’s new management and improved conditions.

I was going to describe the experiences of my recently immigrated high school peers, who sometimes fell asleep in class from sheer exhaustion after working night shifts at meatpacking plants and attending school for seven hours the next day.

I was going to explain why communities not only benefit from immigrants, but need them.

Without immigrants, I learned, U.S. communities would lose the nearly $1 trillion of state, local, and federal taxes that immigrants contribute annually. This number is almost $300 billion more than immigrants receive in government benefits.

Without immigration, the U.S. working-age population is projected to decline by approximately 6 million over the next two decades — a shift that would carry significant consequences, especially for the Social Security system. Sustained population growth is critical to preserving a balanced ratio of workers contributing to Social Security for every beneficiary receiving support.

As immigration is expected to become the sole driver of U.S. population growth by 2040, restrictive immigration policies threaten to undermine this vital program, as a cornerstone of the American social safety net. With broad public support for strengthening Social Security, embracing immigration is not just beneficial — it is essential to ensuring the program’s long-term stability and success.

I was prepared to comb through every dissent in an effort to prove why our neighbors are deserving of empathy and compassion. But none of these answers address the larger, more urgent question: When did being neighbors cease to be enough?

Most Americans still tell pollsters immigration is good for their communities and reject cruel deportations, especially those that separate families, target people without criminal records, or penalize people who came here as young children. My rural Ohio town, and countless communities like it, are slowly learning the most important lesson about this supposedly complicated issue: Compassion doesn’t need to be complicated.

Meredith Lehman is a research associate at the Institute for Policy Studies. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org

Op-Ed |
Congress is taking from the poor and giving to the rich

Let’s say you’re lucky enough to get housing at that wage. Do you then spend all your money on rent and skip nutritious meals for your family?

by Jocelyn Smith
OtherWords

I know how it feels to be hungry and homeless.

That’s why after work, I drive around town and pick up leftover food from restaurants, schools, grocery stores, and special events. My fellow volunteers and I set up in a big parking lot in our downtown to make this food available to anyone who shows up — no questions asked.

And it’s why other volunteers and I also work to find empty housing units that have fallen into disrepair because the landlords can’t afford the upkeep. We raise money and give them grants so they can bring the units up to code for use as low-income housing rentals.

I’m proud to do this work. But it’s no substitute for fair, living wages and a reliable public safety net. The minimum wage where I live is $12 — well below the $21 per hour the National Low Income Housing Coalition has calculated is necessary to afford a market rate two-bedroom rental locally.

Let’s say you’re lucky enough to get housing at that wage. Do you then spend all your money on rent and skip nutritious meals for your family? Or do you skip health care and medication? If you have a paycheck and a roof over your head, you might not qualify for food assistance, even if you don’t make enough to make ends meet.

foodbank photo — Foodbanks play a crucial role in addressing hunger and ensuring that vulnerable populations have access to nutritious food when they are unable to afford or access enough food on their own.

I work, volunteer, take care of my child, and I’m fortunate enough to have housing. But I still need to rely on SNAP — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as “food stamps” — for my family.

My daughter has epilepsy, and thankfully I was able to get her onto Social Security Disability Insurance. However, she needs not only costly medication but also frequent neurological supervision and a device that helps to stop her seizures. There’s no neurologist in our town who can treat her, so we have to travel and lodge hours away for it.

when we need help, the bar for our income shouldn’t be so low that we must be nearly destitute, without any savings or emergency cushion, to qualify.

The expense is enormous, and that’s not even getting into expensive medications for my own heart problems and autoimmune disorders. Thankfully, we qualify for Medicaid. Otherwise, treatment would be out of reach.

But what does it say about our policy priorities when we need to say, “I’m disabled, taking care of my disabled daughter, I work, and I help feed my community, and yet I need assistance affording meals for my family?” These are the realities that a good society plans for so we can all thrive, no matter what obstacles life throws our way.

The programs our tax dollars pay for so families like mine can get help when we need it must be more robust. Programs like SSDI shouldn’t be so inaccessible. Food, housing, and health care shouldn’t be so expensive — and wages shouldn’t be so low that these basic necessities are unaffordable.

And when we need help, the bar for our income shouldn’t be so low that we must be nearly destitute, without any savings or emergency cushion, to qualify.

Is Congress working on any of this? Unfortunately, no. Instead, they’re doing the opposite right now.

In fact, the GOP budget proposal would slash $880 billion from Medicaid and $230 billion from food assistance. They’re also cutting government agencies that assist with affordable housing, transportation, safety, veterans, and children with disabilities.

Why? Because they need to find at least $4.5 trillion to give even more tax cuts to the wealthiest and largest corporations. They are reaching into my very shallow pockets, into my daughter’s life-saving medical care, and into the mouths of those who come to my food table in that parking lot.

They’re stealing from us to give to the rich, perpetuating a vicious cycle of poverty that keeps people homeless and hungry.

I don’t think that’s fair. Do you? We all deserve better.

Jocelyn Smith lives in Roswell, New Mexico. She works at a local talk radio station, runs a local Food not Bombs chapter, and volunteers at Rehab to Rental, helping to increase affordable housing options. This op-ed was produced in partnership with the Institute for Policy Studies and the Working Class Storyteller and distributed by OtherWords.org.

Commentary |
Clicks, Cash & Consequences: The Cost of social media fame

I once read, "If you’re getting a free product, then you are the product." That line stuck with me.

by Rashmi Rekha Das

Facebook launched its Creator Program in November 2017 with the goal of competing with platforms like YouTube and Twitch by supporting video creators with tools, insights, and monetization options. Through this program, creators can earn money based on their content’s engagement, with payments deposited directly into their accounts.

To get started, a creator must either create a Facebook Page or switch their profile to professional mode. Success hinges on consistency, quality content, audience interaction, and effective use of Facebook’s tools. Facebook issues weekly challenges, and creators must complete them to qualify for rewards.

Guest Commentary |
Go have a good day

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

A Catholic Priest, A Jewish Rabbi and a Baptist minister were discussing the beginning of life.

The Priest said, “Life begins at conception. The Rabbi said he believe at birth. The Baptist minister thought for a minute and said, “I believe life begins when the last child leaves home and the dog dies.”

While there are different opinions about when life begins, what is the answer to the question, “When does life end?” Most of us would agree when we breath our last breath is when it’s over for us. However, too often the ending of life is even more grim than us fighting for a breath of air and then we are nothing but a body of flesh and bone for some else to dispose.

Too often life for many ends months or maybe even years before our final physical moment. Actually, possibly it has already happened to you and you haven’t even realized that you are already dead. You died and you didn’t even know it. You’ve been starring at your television, scrolling through social media and maybe even walking around the aisle of the grocery store just as dead as old King Tut, but not physically, just mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

It happens to the best of people. You lose all interest in life. You have nothing that you look forward to. There is nothing you particularly want to do. No place you really want to go and nobody you want to be around. You’re dying, because you’ve given up.

There are several scenarios that can bring us to this motionless zombie stage of life. Losing a spouse, losing a job, losing a child, a business failure, financial failure, a major sickness or just outliving all your family and your friends. Too often people detach themselves from everyone or anything going on which limits their activity and interest even more.

No doubt crippling disease changers our personalities and our interests. Battling cancer, diabetes, a neurological disease or take your pick of many more, changes our attitude about wanting to be out and about and doing what we use to do. Going to church, the local Kiwanis

Meeting, or singing in the community choir may not have the same appeal.

Regardless of what you or a loved one has going on it’s well to take notice of this stage of life and not be too hard on your friend or yourself. Here is what you must try:

1. Keep moving. Move whatever you can. Even if you are wheel chair bound, move your mind and whatever part of your body that you can move.

2. Keep doing. Do something. Read, pray, exercise, go to church, walk. Clean your house. Work a job, mentor people. Be a friend to others. Use your imagination.

3. Keep trying. As long as you can breathe, don’t quit.

4. Have something to look forward to. This can be anything. Someone’s birthday. A trip to the store. Moving the yard. A family gathering. A weekend trip, a movie, church, it can be most anything.

5. Enjoy whatever you do. Laugh and have a good time.

The only person who can keep you down is yourself. Your number one obstacle is usually yourself. If we can overcome what we mentally put ourselves through then we have a good chance of a good day. A good thought to add here, is the scripture, “If God be for us who can be against us?” Romans 8:21 Another one is “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

Now, go and have a good day!

About the author ~

Glen Mollett is the author of 13 books including Uncommom Sense, the Spiritual Chocolate series, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook insights from a fellow minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states.

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.

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Commentary |
When climate disasters hit, who should flip the bill?

Some states are landing on a straightforward answer: fossil fuel companies.

Tornado damaged police car

Photo: PEXELS

by Sonali Kolhatkar

OtherWords

Rebuilding from California’s recent wildfires will cost more than a quarter of a trillion dollars — an unprecedented amount. The estimated damage from Hurricane Helene in the Southeast is almost as much, on the order of $250 billion.

Who will pay for that damage? It’s a question plaguing localities around the country as climate change makes these disasters increasingly common.

Some states are landing on a straightforward answer: fossil fuel companies.

The idea is inspired by the “superfunds” used to clean up industrial accidents and toxic waste. The Superfund program goes back to 1980, when Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The law fined polluters to finance the clean up of toxic spills.

Thanks to the hard work of groups such as the Vermont Public Interest Research Group and Vermont Natural Resources Council, Vermont recently became the first state to establish a climate superfund in May 2024.

It’s an idea whose time has come, especially now that states are less able to rely on the federal government.

Months later, New York followed suit, again in response to pressure from environmental groups. Both bills require oil and gas companies to pay billions into a fund designated for climate-related cleanup and rebuilding.

Now California is considering a similar law in the wake of its disastrous wildfires. Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey may take up the idea as well.

It’s an idea whose time has come, especially now that states are less able to rely on the federal government. The Trump administration is disabling government agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with major cuts and putting conditions on other aid.

At the recent Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) conference, Trump aide Ric Grenell unabashedly endorsed “squeezing” California’s federal funds unless they “get rid of the California Coastal Commission.” (Trump apparently hates the commission, the Fresno Bee explains, because it prevents “wealthy people from turning public beaches into private enclaves.”)

Fossil fuel companies — the lead perpetrators of climate disasters — spent more than $450 million to elect their favored candidates, including Trump. In return, Trump has promised to speed up oil and gas permits and stacked his cabinet with oil-friendly executives.

Why should taxpayers have to foot the bill to clean up the destruction wrought by this industry, one of the most profitable the world has ever known? As a spokesperson for New York Governor Kathy Hochul said, “corporate polluters should pay for the wreckage caused by the climate crisis — not every day New Yorkers.”

To be fair, a climate superfund is a “downstream” solution to the climate crisis.

Not surprisingly, 22 Republican-led states disagree. They’ve sued to block New York’s law and protect oil and gas profits at the expense of ordinary people. They have no answer for the question of who pays for recovery from climate disasters or helps people reeling from one disaster after another.

Fossil fuel companies can think of paying into a climate superfund as the cost of doing business. If they’re in the business of extracting and selling a fuel that destroys the planet, it’s only fair they pay to clean up the damage.

And the public agrees. Data For Progress found more than 80 percent of voters support holding fossil fuel companies responsible for the impact of carbon emissions.

To be fair, a climate superfund is a “downstream” solution to the climate crisis, one that seeks to raise the costs to perpetrators. A climate superfund can pay to rebuild homes, but it cannot replace priceless family heirlooms or undo the trauma of surviving a disaster. Most of all, it cannot bring back lives lost. It is only one tool in a multi-pronged tool box to end the climate crisis.

Upstream solutions centering the prevention of climate change — that is, reducing carbon emissions at their source — must be at the center of our fight if humanity is to survive. But in the meantime, fossil fuel polluters should pay.

About the author:
Sonali Kolhatkar is the host of “Rising Up With Sonali,” a television and radio show on Free Speech TV and Pacifica stations. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.

Keywords:

Commentary | American holiday efficiency, a three-for-one on June 14

by Peter Olson
Guest Commentator

On Valentine’s Day, upstate Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) showed her devotion - not with roses or chocolates, but with a bill to make June 14, Donald J. Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day, a federal holiday. Lucky guy.

Her proposed Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day Holiday Establishment Act would solidify the day as an official national holiday, aligning with Flag Day, which has been observed since 1777 to commemorate the adoption of the U.S. flag. If passed, the holiday would take effect in 2026, just in time for America’s 250th birthday and Trump’s 80th.

A Tribute to Trump’s Legacy

Tenny said: "No modern president has been more pivotal for our country than Donald J. Trump. As both our 45th and 47th President, he is the most consequential President in modern American history, leading our country at a time of great international and domestic turmoil."

She added, "Just as George Washington’s Birthday is codified as a federal holiday, this bill will add Trump’s Birthday to this list, recognizing him as the founder of America’s Golden Age," she said.

Given past rumors about the President, the gentle Congresswoman should probably refrain using the word "golden" and his name in the same sentence.

A Divisive Proposal

As with most things related to Trump, the bill immediately sparked immediate criticism in social media channels.

Critics on X and Reddit questioned whether Congress should prioritize a new federal holiday over more pressing issues like healthcare, inflation, and immigration reform. And then there are others, like comedian Billie Nelson who rolled with it in tweet:

>>> "OK, but hear me out! Let’s also make it ‘Traitor Trash Day!’ Benedict Arnold died on June 14, 1801, as a traitor, in England. Just putting it out there! 145 years later, another traitor was born..."

Ok, but hear me out!
Let's also make it "Traitor Trash Day!"
Benedict Arnold died on June 14, 1801, as a traitor, in England.

Just putting it out there!
145 years later, another Traitor was born... pic.twitter.com/vRlsq4x0QW
— Billie Nelson (@Mamabenergy2) February 16, 2025

Will It Pass?

The bill does face an uphill battle in Congress as historically, establishing a federal holiday tends to involve bipartisan negotiations — though not always unanimous support. For example, Juneteenth National Independence Day (2021) passed with overwhelming bipartisan backing, while Martin Luther King Jr. Day (1983) faced strong opposition before eventually becoming law. However, given the current make up of the House and Senate, the proposal isn’t entirely without momentum.

The likelihood of the bill becoming law remains uncertain but ChatGPT confidently said, "Let’s be real: this bill has about as much chance of passing as Trump staying off social media for a full 24 hours. But hey, politics is weird, and stranger things have happened."

June 14 could truly be a holiday for everyone, traitors and patriots alike.

We live in interesting times for sure.

Why do politicians keep blaming DEI for disasters when it’s a laughably lie

At best, these false claims help politicians cover for corporate misdeeds. At worst, they foster division for its own sake. Neither makes us safer.

by Peter Certo
OtherWords

In this chaotic news cycle, America’s worst plane crash in a generation already feels a generation old.

But the administration’s response to the tragic January collision that killed 67 people over the Potomac is worth revisiting. Not only because the loved ones of those lost deserve answers, but because it highlights a MAGA playbook we’ve seen repeatedly now — and we’ll see again very soon.

Trump suggested that unqualified minority hires caused the accident ...

We don’t yet know what caused the crash. But shortly before it, President Trump disbanded a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety committee, fired the FAA administrator, and implemented a federal hiring freeze despite a shortage of air traffic controllers. (Staffing at the local tower was “not normal” the night of the collision, The New York Times reported.)

Speculation has even emerged that Elon Musk, the unelected billionaire bureaucrat who’s been illegally gutting the federal government, urged the FAA administrator’s firing in retaliation for past fines against his SpaceX company.

Did any of that contribute? That’s for a proper investigation to determine. But one thing’s for sure: It wasn’t the “DEI” initiatives President Trump immediately blamed.

Trump suggested that unqualified minority hires caused the accident because the prior administration thought “the workforce was too white.” When pressed for even a shred of evidence, he shrugged that it was “common sense.” Administration figures like Vice President Vance stuck with the claim even after learning that both pilots involved were white.

The claim was ridiculous, but it sucked up attention that might have gone to the Trump administration’s own moves instead. And that’s exactly why we keep seeing lies like these — to protect incompetent politicians and the corporate interests that prop them up.

Once you realize that, you’ll start noticing it everywhere.

For instance, there’s ample evidence that climate change contributed to Southern California’s horrific wildfires this winter. But rather than implicate the campaign-contributing fossil fuel companies that have supercharged these disasters, right-wing influencers blamed “DEI” hires like women firefighters.

About a year ago, when a foreign cargo ship destroyed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, the same crowd had nothing to say about regulating shipping companies or infrastructure safety. Instead, they just started calling the city’s Black mayor, Brandon Scott, the “DEI mayor.”

At best, these obviously false claims suck the oxygen out of any discussions that might involve the incompetence of politicians or misdeeds of their corporate supporters.

And finally, we saw an earlier version of this script when a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, spilling toxic chemicals and burning them up in a noxious cloud over the impoverished town.

Norfolk Southern had skimped on maintenance, overstretched its workers, and plowed the savings into stock buybacks rather than safety. The company had also poured money into Ohio’s statehouse, which killed a bipartisan rail safety bill the company had lobbied against.

The talking heads on Fox News didn’t have anything to say about that — or about President Trump’s decision to nix an Obama-era regulation to prevent accidents like these during his first term.

Instead, right-wing multimillionaires like Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk claimed the accident happened because President Biden didn’t care about the poor whites of rural Ohio. (Kirk even claimed the episode proved there was a whole “crusade against white people.”)

At best, these obviously false claims suck the oxygen out of any discussions that might involve the incompetence of politicians or misdeeds of their corporate supporters. At worst, they foster division for its own sake. Neither makes us safer.

As Trump, Musk, and their allies illegally purge federal agencies and open the floodgates to corporate malfeasance of all varieties, more disasters like these are almost inevitable. And just as inevitably, they’ll blame DEI, immigrants, LGBTQ people, or some other scapegoat when that happens.

For our hard-earned tax dollars, most of us just want the government to protect our communities and our planet — even when that’s less profitable for a few corporations. But to get that, we’ll have to pull together across the divides their backers like to drive between us.

Peter Certo is the communications director of the Institute for Policy Studies and editor of OtherWords.org.

Commentary |
Anti-Immigrant legislation doesn’t serve anyone but prison contractors

by Sulma Arias

OtherWords

The Laken Riley Act is an assault on due process, undermining all of our rights to make for-profit prison CEOs richer.

You’re reading the words of a formerly undocumented immigrant.

When I fled El Salvador four decades ago, I was 12 years old and alone. I was escaping the country’s civil war, where U.S.-backed death squads had made murders and rape our daily reality.

I reunited with my sisters, my only surviving family, in Wichita, Kansas. Once there, I helped open churches, started businesses, and raised three daughters. There were times I wasn’t sure we’d make it to the end of the month, but I was grateful for the sense of peace and security we were able to create here.

That’s why I’m so alarmed that the new Republican-led Congress has chosen to open with a bill, H.R. 29, that strikes fear in the hearts of immigrant families all across the country. This bill would strip judges of discretion and require immigrants to be detained and subject to deportation if they’re accused — not even convicted — of even minor offenses like shoplifting.

This major assault on due process won’t keep anyone safer. It would terrorize all immigrants in this country, who studies show are much less likely to commit crimes of any kind than native-born Americans.

So who benefits from H.R. 29? Private prison corporations like CoreCivic and GEO Group, who made a fortune during the last Trump administration by running private prisons for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

CoreCivic and GEO kept immigrants and asylum seekers in inhumane and toxic conditions with poor hygiene and exposed women and children to sexual predators. Under this new law, cynical executives will siphon off more public dollars, and wealthy investors will reap more rewards, from abusing and demonizing people seeking refuge from violence or poverty.

When Trump won, private prison stocks soared. Why? Because investors anticipated making a fortune detaining immigrants. More than 90 percent of migrants detained by ICE end up in for-profit facilities.

GEO Group, which maxed out its campaign contributions to Trump, told its investors they could make almost $400 million per year supporting “future needs for ICE and the federal government” in a second Trump term. Their stock price nearly doubled in November.

Whether those detained are guilty or not, CoreCivic and GEO get paid. That’s what H.R. 29 is for: advancing corporate greed, not protecting Americans.

We all have a stake in stopping private prison corporations from becoming more powerful, regardless of our language, race, gender, or community. In addition to jailing immigrants, for-profit prison companies also look for ways to put citizens in prison more often — and for longer — so they can make more money.

Whenever we allow fundamental rights to be taken away, we erode our shared humanity and diminish all of our rights and freedoms.

The people behind H.R. 29 want us to be afraid of each other so we won’t stand together. They want to be able to barge into our homes, schools, and churches to take our neighbors and loved ones away. They want workers to be too scared to stand up to their bosses’ abuse. All so their donors in the private prison industry can make more money.

Democrats will need to find their way in this new Congress. Falling in line behind nativist fear-mongers who take millions in campaign contributions from the private-prison industry is not the right way to do it.

Americans demand better. We want true leadership with an affirmative vision for the future of this country and dignity for all people, including immigrants.

H.R. 29 targets whole communities because of the language we speak and the color of our skin. Instead, our elected leaders, regardless of party, must work to address people’s needs through building an economy that works for all of us, not just the wealthy few.

Sulma Arias is executive director of People’s Action, the nation’s largest network of grassroots power-building groups, with more than a million members in 30 states. This op-ed was adapted from OurFuture.org and distributed for syndication by OtherWords.org.