Dreamers are young people who were raised here as Americans. They
pledge allegiance, study hard, want to go to college, serve in the
military for the country they perceive as theirs, and seek the American
dream. Their only problem, and it is a big one, is that they were not
born here, are not citizens, and can be deported at any time to
countries in which they have never lived and know little to nothing
about.
They were brought here. They did not come on their own and
had no power or say over their immigration. Many do not remember
arriving.
Certain Republican candidates would round them up and ship them off wholesale to their countries of origin.
Today,
a panda cub was born here. Pandas generally give birth around mid to
late August, so any pandas in the whole world who were about to have
cubs have either done so, are doing so, or will do so in very short
order. That's how it works with pandas. Also, any and all pandas that
are born anywhere in the world no matter where, are Chinese.
Associated Press
- ©
Courtesy of Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology
Institute via Facebook Still image from video of Mei Mei in her cage at
the National Zoo in Washingtonb, D.C., on August 22, 2015.
WASHINGTON
— The National Zoo in Washington says there's one more panda in the
world after its female giant panda gave birth to a cub on Saturday.
Zoo
spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson confirmed in an email that Mei Xiang
gave birth to the cub at 5:35 p.m. If the cub survives, it would be the
17-year-old panda's third surviving offspring.
Mei Xiang's first cub, Tai Shan, was born in 2005. Her second cub, Bao Bao, turns 2-years-old on Sunday.
The
zoo's current pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, the parents of both Bao
Bao and Tai Shan, arrived in 2000. The pandas belong to China as do any
cubs they have. The pair's first cub, Tai Shan, returned to China in
2010. Their second cub, Bao Bao, still lives at the National Zoo.
That
IF is a really big IF. Panda cubs have a high mortality rate even with
the best of care. It will be a long time before veterinarians can get
the cub out of the den for the first exam. If the baby does survive, it
will be 100 days before it is named. That is Chinese tradition for
human children, and it is the protocol followed for little pandas as
well. The naming ceremony will feature a high-level Chinese official -
perhaps the ambassador. The name will be Chinese.
Like Tai Shan,
Bao Bao will one day travel to China as will this little pink baby. To
say "Tai Shan, returned to China in 2010" is not completely accurate,
however, since Tai Shan was born here and had never been
in China.
Pandas
cannot speak or tell us how they feel about this arrangement we have.
No zoos in the world would have pandas if they did not agree first with
the arrangement. Maybe the pandas are fine with it. We cannot know. We
do know that pandas are very intelligent and first-time panda moms can
learn cub care from watching videos of panda moms caring for infants.
The Chinese treasure their pandas and take very good care of them.
This
is real. They graduate from year to year from the nursery to a kind of
pre-K environment, and onward to kindergarten ... you get the idea.
Panda babies go to school.
Coincidentally, I received this in a news feed today.
Even
little pandas have to pass tests. But the goal there is for them to
live the Chinese panda dream - unless they are presented to a foreign
zoo for exhibition and breeding.
Dreamers are not pandas. They do not "belong"
to or probably even
in
their countries of origin about which they know little or nothing and
perhaps would live in great danger. They are American kids minus the
papers. We raised them. We educated them. We invested in them, and
they want to stay and pay back. Should they be returned to where they came
from?
Where you stand on this question will help decide your 2016
vote. I can tell you this. While other candidates have stood on
podiums and made rallying speeches to record-breaking crowds, one
candidate took the time to sit for a quiet conversation with Dreamers
and hear their stories - their side of question.
May 5, 2015
At Rancho High School in Las Vegas, Hillary made clear her
determination to effect immigration reform and a path to citizenship
for Dreamers and, importantly, their families.
This event is a
perfect example of Hillary’s early campaign strategy. Rather than doing
the speaking, Hillary is hearing the stories these Dreamers have to
tell. For those who still do not get it, statements from her will not
proliferate right now. She is busy doing the listening.
Read more >>>>
When Hillary lays out her plan for immigration reform, this conversation will have helped to shape that plank in her platform.
We
really do not like to say good-bye to our little pandas that we have
fostered from birth, but that is our agreement with China. We have no
such agreement with any country about people unless they are criminals
and extradition treaties apply. Why send away young people we have
fostered? It is unthinkable!
***************
***Edited to add this*** Indeed it was twins!
Giant
panda cub Bao Bao is given a cake to enjoy on her second birthday, at
Smithsonian’s National Zoo, in Washington, DC, on Aug. 23, 2015. Bao
Bao’s second birthday comes a day after her mother, 17-year-old Mei
Xiang, gave birth to twins, Aug. 22. This is only the third time a giant
panda living in the United States has given birth to twins.
(EPA/Michael Reynolds)
It was a busy weekend for giant pandas at the National Zoo: Twins were born. But big sister Bao Bao took the cake, literally, as she turned two today.
Bao Bao, whose name means “precious treasure,” was born at 5:32 p.m. on Aug. 23, 2013. The second cub of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian has developed a kind of cult-like following: people watch her tackle her mom in the snow or eat fruitsicles or tumble down a hill.
For her birthday, Bao Bao enjoyed a traditional frozen fruitsicle cake
with all of her favorite treats: honey, apple juice, carrots, beet
juice and of course bamboo. For a special treat, zoo officials said
keepers wrapped tiny treats inside cardboard boxes for her to unwrap —
or enjoy.
Read more >>>>
Hillary Clinton
