As I was waiting for my sons to do their Cub Scouts activities, one of their leaders came up to me and asked what I was reading. I closed the book and showed him the cover of Pete Buttigieg’s Shortest Way Home. He showed no reaction; therefore, I asked him if he knew Pete Buttigieg. To my surprise, he didn’t.

I gave him a brief background of Buttigieg and told him that he’s the presidential candidate for the Democratic Party. He didn’t seem to care; therefore, I wanted to find out a bit more about him. I knew he is Vietnamese-American and he was born in the United States. He told me that he is in his second year at NOVA community college. I asked him if he liked to read and his answer was not if he had to.

I was not making any judgment. In fact, I thought it is good for him not to get all caught up in politics. I wish I could zone out just like him. Following politics only stresses you out. You can’t make a difference. Most politicians, Republicans in particular, have been bought out by big money. They don’t give a fuck about this country. They only look out for their own interests as well as the big donors’ agenda. For the most part, money still rules this country. The more you know about politics, the more corruption you will see.

Qua lần bầu cử mới đây, tôi rất mừng khi tiểu bang Virginia chuyển từ đỏ qua xanh. Đa số do đảng Dân Chủ nắm quyền. Ngày xưa đất đai ở Virginia rất nhiều nông trại nhưng giờ đây đã mọc lên nhiều ngôi nhà đắt tiền của dân tị nạn thành công. Nhờ cộng đồng dân tị nạn như Hàng Quốc và Ấn Độ mà Virginia mới trở thành đảng Dân Chủ. Chỉ riêng cộng đồng người Việt phần nhiều vẫn đần độn trung thành với Cộng Hoà và ngu muội tuân theo con đười ươi màu da cam.

Cũng không trách họ được vì nếu như họ chỉ theo dõi tin tức cộng đồng người Việt thì họ cũng chỉ nghe theo một chiều. Họ không phân biệt được giữa tin tức thật và giả. Gần đây tôi đã đóng tài khoản Facebook cũng vì tôi không muốn thấy những tin tức giả mà những báo chí trong cộng động người Việt đăng lên rồi thiên hạ chửi bới ồn ào mà không chịu tìm hiểu sự thật.

Chẳng hạn như có một bài tiếng Việt được tranh cãi rầm rộ nói rằng tiểu ban New York từ đảng Dân Chủ thông qua luật cho người mẹ được có quyền phá thai sau 32 tuần chỉ vì lý do người mẹ chán nản (depression) hoặc không có khả năng nuôi bé sau khi sinh ra. Tin đó khi đọc xong không cần phải kiểm tra cũng biết là tin giả vậy mà cộng đồng tin như thật.

Thêm một ví dụ nữa là cộng đồng Việt chia sẻ một video buổi họp với nghị sĩ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Đến phần câu hỏi và trả lời có một người đàn bà ra ý kiến bà ta đồng ý với AOC rằng bây giờ môi trường bị ô nhiễm rất nặng vì chúng ta có quá nhiều trẻ em. Để giải quyết sự việc này bà đề nghị chẳng những phải giết chết trẻ em mà còn phải ăn bọn chúng. Những lời lẽ điên cuồng đến thế mà cộng đồng người Việt vẫn tin rằng đó là lối chính trị của đảng Dân Chủ. Thôi hết lời để nói.

Dĩ nhiên tôi không vơ đũa cả nắm. Không phải người Việt nào cũng thế nhưng phần đông là như vậy. Bởi vậy tôi cảm thấy Facebook là một nơi rất nguy hiểm nhất là giờ đây Mark Zuckerberg cho phép những người làm chính trị muốn quảng cáo gì cũng được. Theo luật của Facebook, chúng ta không thể nào quảng cáo “Bánh Mì Ba Lẹ giết chó con làm pâté.” Nhưng ta có thể quảng cáo, “Bánh Mì Ba Lẹ giết chó con làm pâté do Elizabeth Warren ra lệnh.” Miễn sao có tên người làm chính trị trong đó thì muốn đưa lên tin quảng cáo nào cũng được.

The results are in and Virginia has flipped blue. I am proud to be apart of this state. Keep this momentum up and we’ll kick that motherfucker out of the White House next year. Ms. Trâm Nguyễn, co-executive director of New Virginia Majority, wrote an op-ed in The New York Times titled “Democrats Could Learn a Lot From What Happened In Virginia.”

The House. The House is on fire. We don’t need no water. Let’s impeach the muthafacka.

When a kid told me to “Go back to China,” I used my limited English to reply to him, “I no from China.” Then he said, “Go back to wherever you came from.” That was twenty-seven years ago when I first came to this country at the age of twelve. The unwelcomeness hurt me deeply. I wanted to cry and I wanted to go back. I didn’t know why we came here. My mother never explained to me. I just came for the ride. I missed Vietnam terribly. I missed the familiar language, places, and faces. I was comfortable in an environment where I was not bullied, singled out, or laughed at. I missed my home, neighbors, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, and most of all, dad.

My childhood was robbed. I turned from a happy, social kid to a sad, lonesome boy in a new, strange place. Fortunately, the adults stepped in to turn things around. From my ESL teachers to my Upward Bound mentors to my friends and family members in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, they gave me a different perspective on America. Through their kindness and opening arms, they showed me that America was built on immigrants. Whether you are new to this country or you were born here from parents or grandparents of immigrants, we are all here together as a nation. I began to understand the land of opportunity and freedom.

As much as I missed my home in Vietnam, I officially found my new home when I became a U.S. Citizen. For almost three decades, this is my home. I went to school, got married, and built my family here. I worked hard and paid my taxes. This is where I belong. Vietnam is still part of me and will always be, but America is my home. It is where my kids were born. They speak English, Vietnamese, and some Spanish too. Diversity makes America great.

Sadly, America is deeply divided when the most powerful man in the country used the kid’s language toward his political advantage. I never took him seriously. He’s a con, joker, and puppet. Unlike the kid who told me to “Go back to wherever you came from,” the puppet has a base of millions of followers behind him. Are his followers racist? I hope not, but they are supporting a racist and his racist comment. When the kid said it, adults stepped in to teach him how to behave. Where are the adults now to stand up to this bully? When one kid said that to me, I am glad that other kids didn’t chant, “send him back.” Again, the puppet does not bother me. He just brings the true racism out of America. It is disturbing and disheartening to witness in our own home.

Justin Elliott reports in ProPublica:

Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee, led by Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., passed the Taxpayer First Act, a wide-ranging bill making several administrative changes to the IRS that is sponsored by Reps. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Mike Kelly, R-Pa.

In one of its provisions, the bill makes it illegal for the IRS to create its own online system of tax filing. Companies like Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, and H&R Block have lobbied for years to block the IRS from creating such a system. If the tax agency created its own program, which would be similar to programs other developed countries have, it would threaten the industry’s profits.

This is a disgrace!

What an extraordinary speech from Pete Buttigieg. He is a gifted orator with an incredible story. I am sold on his honesty and compassion. I am definitely ready for a gay president.

I have been rooting for Elizabeth Warren, but I might have a change of heart after listening to Pete Buttigieg’s interview with David Remnick. He sounds smart and honest. His primary focus on restructuring our democracy is convincing. Our current government system is broken and we need to fix it. It might not easy, but I am glad he is thinking and talking about it. My wife is right. He is the candidate to keep an eye on.

I know I have said it before, but I am really sick of the political circus both on both Republican and Democrat. Further I am so fed up with that orange fuck. I already decided who I would vote for and that’s it. I am blocking out rest. No reading. No watching. No debating.

I am tired of the debate over the Mueller report. I am sick of hearing about the PWA (President With Attitude). Since he only has a year left, let’s forget about impeachment and focus on beating the crap out of him. We need to elect a president with real policies and that is why I am still rooting for Elizabeth Warren.