American Politics IV: 1400 Reasons Why(A Stimulus Serial)

[Tyunmen]

First off, while what FDR did was wrong, I quote 'IT IS NOT A GENOCIDE' was it a massive-violation of human rights that FDR should have been punished for? Yes. Was it a genocide? No.

It could certainly be considered an act of genocide under the later UN Genocide Convention.

Ok fair. Good point.

[Celritannia]

at least most of FDR-era America's violent sociopathic streak was directed outwards at deserving targets.

Define "deserving targets". Because the FDR-era U.S military considered both combatants and civilians as "deserving targets".

Which WW2 country didn't?

[Greater Cesnica]

Sai supporting sending black people to their deaths. Real cash money of you Sai.

They're not going to die if Haitians who can't stay in the US have to go back to their island. Asides which, the Dominican Republic has done so much better with their half of Hispaniola. If the DR can become rich, Haiti can too with the right strategy. Just that, Haiti is wrecked in terms of natural resources and human capitol; so it'd take something unorthodox to really build it up. I don't quite have the answer. But its not in what Haiti is doing now.

Or... We could not deport them? Give them a chance, at least.

Define "deserving targets". Because the FDR-era U.S military considered both combatants and civilians as "deserving targets".

Which WW2 country didn't?

Still doesn't make it less immoral.

[Celritannia]

Still doesn't make it less immoral.

No one has said that, but it is difficult to separate civilian and military targets in bombing campaigns, by any country.

[Greater Cesnica]

No one has said that, but it is difficult to separate civilian and military targets in bombing campaigns, by any country.

The United States and Britain deliberately targeted civilians during World War II.

[Kowani]

Arizona considering legislation to make it illegal for any processing fee to be collected by mobile app stores if the customer lives in Arizona or if the app seller is based in Arizona, allowing app developers to avoid taxes from Apple and Google

those numbers are steep, by the way:

Currently, on the app stores for both Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, apps that collect any charges from their downloaders, like subscriptions or in-app purchases, have to pay either a 15 or 30 percent processing fee on that charge.

[Senkaku]

And what else did FDR do, besides the New Deal and Japanese internment...?

I don't think it's wrong to praise the guy for defeating Nazism and Japanese imperialism, even if there were some war crimes along the way. I've yet to see any major power that doesn't commit war crimes; at least most of FDR-era America's violent sociopathic streak was directed outwards at deserving targets. Yes, it's part of his legacy and it tarnishes it significantly, but being the guy who beat Hitler sort of automatically qualifies you to at least be up there among the presidents, regardless of the other shit you did.

This is essentially the argument that Stalinists use to argue that Stalin is one of the best leaders in Russian history.

What a fundamentally absurd comparison. You're making these points and in each case leaving out the most important details of FDR's record-- you know what the difference between him and Stalin is, in this case? Stalin killed millions of the Soviet civilians he interned; FDR did not (even though it was still wrong and people did die because of the terrible conditions). You really don't think that's a worthwhile distinction to draw, or that it's reasonable for that fact to differentiate our historical interpretations of their records?

[Celritannia]

No one has said that, but it is difficult to separate civilian and military targets in bombing campaigns, by any country.

The United States and Britain deliberately targeted civilians during World War II.

*Sigh*

[Proctopeo]

Arizona considering legislation to make it illegal for any processing fee to be collected by mobile app stores if the customer lives in Arizona or if the app seller is based in Arizona, allowing app developers to avoid taxes from Apple and Google

those numbers are steep, by the way:

Currently, on the app stores for both Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, apps that collect any charges from their downloaders, like subscriptions or in-app purchases, have to pay either a 15 or 30 percent processing fee on that charge.

Well, that sounds like a good thing.

[Senkaku]

No one has said that, but it is difficult to separate civilian and military targets in bombing campaigns, by any country.

The United States and Britain deliberately targeted civilians during World War II.

Our perception of strategic bombing has changed with the advent of nuclear weapons and more powerful bomber aircraft and munitions. Everyone deliberately targeted civilians during World War II; that's why I said I hadn't heard of a major power that hasn't committed war crimes. Our modern sensibilities have a somewhat more stringent interpretation of what constitutes a war crime, because we have knowledge and habituation that they didn't about how destructive and awful modern weaponry is. Applying that standard to say every strategic bombing mission is on the same level as the Holocaust or the Uyghur and Rohingya genocides seems completely ass-backwards.

[Washington Resistance Army]

Arizona considering legislation to make it illegal for any processing fee to be collected by mobile app stores if the customer lives in Arizona or if the app seller is based in Arizona, allowing app developers to avoid taxes from Apple and Google

those numbers are steep, by the way:

Currently, on the app stores for both Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, apps that collect any charges from their downloaders, like subscriptions or in-app purchases, have to pay either a 15 or 30 percent processing fee on that charge.

Kinda based, I think? Anything that sticks it to Google and Apple at least gets some level of support from me.

[Kowani]

Cuomo offers yet another apology

just resign already plz

[Greater Cesnica]

Cuomo offers yet another apology

just resign already plz

But that would require sucking up his pride.

[Senkaku]

Which WW2 country didn't?

Still doesn't make it less immoral.

When has anyone argued that anything about world wars is moral? I think the only thing anyone's saying is that at least in WW2, there's a clear difference between bad and worse.

Cuomo offers yet another apology

just resign already plz

No way he goes, maybe unless there's like large protest marches for it or something.

[San Lumen]

Cuomo offers yet another apology

just resign already plz

He’s not going to and said he would not. His ego is too big.

[Senkaku]

D.C. National Guard chief says the Pentagon took 3 hours to green-light troops during the Capitol storming

If I were being uncharitable, I'd say this is a sign that there may already be elements inside the Pentagon wondering if a coup from the right would really be that bad for them (or indeed if they could lead or co-opt such a thing)... but it's probably just incompetence from the usual dickheads, right?

Oh Michael Flynn's brother was one of the people involved in the decision? Hmmm...

[San Lumen]

In our final election call from yesterday's elections Rep Patrica Billie Miller holds CT SD-27 for Democrats by a margin of 59/39 in this Stamford based district.

[Umeria]

FDR also tried to pack the Supreme Court with cronies, because the existing court kept rejecting his policies as unconstitutional.

And after that the Court reversed its tune and started supporting him in almost everything. Funny how that works.

This raises an interesting question. If doing the right thing is beyond your authority, is it moral to overstep that authority? Would it have been better to not do the New Deal?

[Shrillland]

And after that the Court reversed its tune and started supporting him in almost everything. Funny how that works.

This raises an interesting question. If doing the right thing is beyond your authority, is it moral to overstep that authority? Would it have been better to not do the New Deal?

It's a good moral and ethical question...and as such is beyond the scope of this thread.

[San Lumen]

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watc ... llegations

Cuomo says at press conference "Some politicians will always play politics. That’s the nature of the beast. I don’t think today is a day for politics. I wasn’t elected by politicians, I was elected by the people of the State of New York. I’m not going to resign. I work for the people of the State of New York, they elected me, and I’m going to serve the people of the State of New York"

Calls from Democrats for him to step aside has been growing and his approval rating is abysmal.

[The United Confederacy of Texas]

"don't remove health restrictions"-people who know what they are talking about

"Cool but ima going to do it any way" some dumb ass

Let it be known that this is only because he wants to save his own skin come 2022 when he's up for election again

[Kowani]

Democrats roll out a sweeping climate bill

At the center of the new "CLEAN Future Act" is a clean electricity standard that would shoot for 80% clean energy by 2030 and 100% by 2035.

It's paired with more than $500 billion in spending authorizations and a wide range of environmental justice, transmission and environmental cleanup provisions.

The bill reflects a significant effort by House Democrats to line up with the Biden administration on climate policy and marks a first step toward addressing the issue on Capitol Hill. [...] The clean electricity standard, for instance, has been tweaked to achieve power-sector decarbonization by 2035, the target the Biden White House has called for.

The bill would also funnel 40% of its funding to environmental justice communities, codifying a goal laid out in Biden's executive order on climate and environmental justice in January.

On the flip side, Democrats removed a provision from last year's draft bill that would have required more stringent greenhouse gas emission standards for cars, with the Biden EPA widely expected to revise the Trump administration's fuel economy rollback. [...] The new measure offers a grab bag of new grant and spending programs. They include funding for renewable energy and resilience projects at public facilities, an EPA grant program to decarbonize ports, $2.5 billion for EPA's clean school bus program to help put zero-emissions buses on the road, and a $500 million annual reauthorization for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act.

Environmental justice communities are a major focus. The bill would create a program to pay to remove lead service lines at no cost to homeowners.

It would also push EPA to clean up all Superfund sites that are vulnerable to the effects of climate change within the next decade. [...] The Energy and Commerce proposal calls for enhanced federal power on transmission siting and directs increased focus by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on getting those wires built.

The bill would direct FERC to establish an Office of Transmission to oversee the agency's transmission siting and incentives work. Additionally, lawmakers would seek additional technical conferences from FERC about how to better oversee interregional transmission assets.

The legislation also clears FERC to "issue permits for construction or modification of certain interstate transmission facilities if a state commission denies an application seeking approval for the siting of such transmission facilities," according to a section-by-section summary of the bill.

Such permitting authorities for transmission siting would echo its pipeline approval authority.

Rounding its transmission focus, the bill also includes a $750 million spending authorization over 10 years for DOE to disperse technical assistance grants to state and local governments for help in evaluating, permitting and siting of interstate transmission lines. [...] The legislation would establish an Office of Energy and Economic Transition in the Executive Office of the President to lead efforts to provide workers and communities transition resources, like retraining grants and manufacturing incentives.

Clean energy manufacturing jobs have become a central focus for Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

But the Biden administration has come under fire from Republicans, who point to potential lost revenue in states that depend on fossil fuel royalties to pay for government services like health care and schools.

To address those needs, the bill would create a new grant program "to aid local government entities that have lost significant amounts of revenue due to the nation's transition to net-zero GHG emissions," the section-by-section summary said.

Eligible communities can "receive an annual payment for no more than eight years, equal to 90 percent of the lost local revenue in years one and two. That amount declines to 75 percent in years three and four, 50 percent in years five and six, and 25 percent in years seven and eight," the committee said. [...] The bill also goes well beyond the power sector and transportation policies typically attached to climate legislation. It includes multiple "zero waste" components, elevating issues around recycling and plastics.

Elements of prior bills like the "Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act" make an appearance in the legislation, including a "temporary pause" on new permits for plastics facilities. The new bill would establish an EPA grant program for community-level zero-waste initiatives along with a grant program for landfill diversion. That second grant pool would reward efforts that might, for example, boost landfill tipping fees or expand access to curbside composting collection as part of zero-waste initiatives.

Product standards and producer responsibility also factor heavily into the bill's waste section. It would establish post-consumer recycled content standards for beverage containers and possibly other products.

EPA would, meanwhile, develop guidelines around labeling for recyclables and compostables, with manufacturers similarly required to standardize labeling.

Other significant elements include a national container deposit system and the creation of a task force to study extended producer responsibility.

[Washington Resistance Army]

Democrats roll out a sweeping climate bill

At the center of the new "CLEAN Future Act" is a clean electricity standard that would shoot for 80% clean energy by 2030 and 100% by 2035.

It's paired with more than $500 billion in spending authorizations and a wide range of environmental justice, transmission and environmental cleanup provisions.

The bill reflects a significant effort by House Democrats to line up with the Biden administration on climate policy and marks a first step toward addressing the issue on Capitol Hill. [...] The clean electricity standard, for instance, has been tweaked to achieve power-sector decarbonization by 2035, the target the Biden White House has called for.

The bill would also funnel 40% of its funding to environmental justice communities, codifying a goal laid out in Biden's executive order on climate and environmental justice in January.

On the flip side, Democrats removed a provision from last year's draft bill that would have required more stringent greenhouse gas emission standards for cars, with the Biden EPA widely expected to revise the Trump administration's fuel economy rollback. [...] The new measure offers a grab bag of new grant and spending programs. They include funding for renewable energy and resilience projects at public facilities, an EPA grant program to decarbonize ports, $2.5 billion for EPA's clean school bus program to help put zero-emissions buses on the road, and a $500 million annual reauthorization for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act.

Environmental justice communities are a major focus. The bill would create a program to pay to remove lead service lines at no cost to homeowners.

It would also push EPA to clean up all Superfund sites that are vulnerable to the effects of climate change within the next decade. [...] The Energy and Commerce proposal calls for enhanced federal power on transmission siting and directs increased focus by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on getting those wires built.

The bill would direct FERC to establish an Office of Transmission to oversee the agency's transmission siting and incentives work. Additionally, lawmakers would seek additional technical conferences from FERC about how to better oversee interregional transmission assets.

The legislation also clears FERC to "issue permits for construction or modification of certain interstate transmission facilities if a state commission denies an application seeking approval for the siting of such transmission facilities," according to a section-by-section summary of the bill.

Such permitting authorities for transmission siting would echo its pipeline approval authority.

Rounding its transmission focus, the bill also includes a $750 million spending authorization over 10 years for DOE to disperse technical assistance grants to state and local governments for help in evaluating, permitting and siting of interstate transmission lines. [...] The legislation would establish an Office of Energy and Economic Transition in the Executive Office of the President to lead efforts to provide workers and communities transition resources, like retraining grants and manufacturing incentives.

Clean energy manufacturing jobs have become a central focus for Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

But the Biden administration has come under fire from Republicans, who point to potential lost revenue in states that depend on fossil fuel royalties to pay for government services like health care and schools.

To address those needs, the bill would create a new grant program "to aid local government entities that have lost significant amounts of revenue due to the nation's transition to net-zero GHG emissions," the section-by-section summary said.

Eligible communities can "receive an annual payment for no more than eight years, equal to 90 percent of the lost local revenue in years one and two. That amount declines to 75 percent in years three and four, 50 percent in years five and six, and 25 percent in years seven and eight," the committee said. [...] The bill also goes well beyond the power sector and transportation policies typically attached to climate legislation. It includes multiple "zero waste" components, elevating issues around recycling and plastics.

Elements of prior bills like the "Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act" make an appearance in the legislation, including a "temporary pause" on new permits for plastics facilities. The new bill would establish an EPA grant program for community-level zero-waste initiatives along with a grant program for landfill diversion. That second grant pool would reward efforts that might, for example, boost landfill tipping fees or expand access to curbside composting collection as part of zero-waste initiatives.

Product standards and producer responsibility also factor heavily into the bill's waste section. It would establish post-consumer recycled content standards for beverage containers and possibly other products.

EPA would, meanwhile, develop guidelines around labeling for recyclables and compostables, with manufacturers similarly required to standardize labeling.

Other significant elements include a national container deposit system and the creation of a task force to study extended producer responsibility.

Neat but I don't think this'll ever pass the Senate.

[Kowani]

Democrats roll out a sweeping climate bill

At the center of the new "CLEAN Future Act" is a clean electricity standard that would shoot for 80% clean energy by 2030 and 100% by 2035.

It's paired with more than $500 billion in spending authorizations and a wide range of environmental justice, transmission and environmental cleanup provisions.

The bill reflects a significant effort by House Democrats to line up with the Biden administration on climate policy and marks a first step toward addressing the issue on Capitol Hill. [...] The clean electricity standard, for instance, has been tweaked to achieve power-sector decarbonization by 2035, the target the Biden White House has called for.

The bill would also funnel 40% of its funding to environmental justice communities, codifying a goal laid out in Biden's executive order on climate and environmental justice in January.

On the flip side, Democrats removed a provision from last year's draft bill that would have required more stringent greenhouse gas emission standards for cars, with the Biden EPA widely expected to revise the Trump administration's fuel economy rollback. [...] The new measure offers a grab bag of new grant and spending programs. They include funding for renewable energy and resilience projects at public facilities, an EPA grant program to decarbonize ports, $2.5 billion for EPA's clean school bus program to help put zero-emissions buses on the road, and a $500 million annual reauthorization for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act.

Environmental justice communities are a major focus. The bill would create a program to pay to remove lead service lines at no cost to homeowners.

It would also push EPA to clean up all Superfund sites that are vulnerable to the effects of climate change within the next decade. [...] The Energy and Commerce proposal calls for enhanced federal power on transmission siting and directs increased focus by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on getting those wires built.

The bill would direct FERC to establish an Office of Transmission to oversee the agency's transmission siting and incentives work. Additionally, lawmakers would seek additional technical conferences from FERC about how to better oversee interregional transmission assets.

The legislation also clears FERC to "issue permits for construction or modification of certain interstate transmission facilities if a state commission denies an application seeking approval for the siting of such transmission facilities," according to a section-by-section summary of the bill.

Such permitting authorities for transmission siting would echo its pipeline approval authority.

Rounding its transmission focus, the bill also includes a $750 million spending authorization over 10 years for DOE to disperse technical assistance grants to state and local governments for help in evaluating, permitting and siting of interstate transmission lines. [...] The legislation would establish an Office of Energy and Economic Transition in the Executive Office of the President to lead efforts to provide workers and communities transition resources, like retraining grants and manufacturing incentives.

Clean energy manufacturing jobs have become a central focus for Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

But the Biden administration has come under fire from Republicans, who point to potential lost revenue in states that depend on fossil fuel royalties to pay for government services like health care and schools.

To address those needs, the bill would create a new grant program "to aid local government entities that have lost significant amounts of revenue due to the nation's transition to net-zero GHG emissions," the section-by-section summary said.

Eligible communities can "receive an annual payment for no more than eight years, equal to 90 percent of the lost local revenue in years one and two. That amount declines to 75 percent in years three and four, 50 percent in years five and six, and 25 percent in years seven and eight," the committee said. [...] The bill also goes well beyond the power sector and transportation policies typically attached to climate legislation. It includes multiple "zero waste" components, elevating issues around recycling and plastics.

Elements of prior bills like the "Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act" make an appearance in the legislation, including a "temporary pause" on new permits for plastics facilities. The new bill would establish an EPA grant program for community-level zero-waste initiatives along with a grant program for landfill diversion. That second grant pool would reward efforts that might, for example, boost landfill tipping fees or expand access to curbside composting collection as part of zero-waste initiatives.

Product standards and producer responsibility also factor heavily into the bill's waste section. It would establish post-consumer recycled content standards for beverage containers and possibly other products.

EPA would, meanwhile, develop guidelines around labeling for recyclables and compostables, with manufacturers similarly required to standardize labeling.

Other significant elements include a national container deposit system and the creation of a task force to study extended producer responsibility.

Neat but I don't think this'll ever pass the Senate.

ah, right
the plan is to try to pass it through regular order, but budget reconciliation is being kept as a backup

[Senkaku]

Neat but I don't think this'll ever pass the Senate.

ah, right
the plan is to try to pass it through regular order, but budget reconciliation is being kept as a backup

Hopefully there's also a plan to just impose it by fiat at gunpoint if nothing else gets it through (since I'm having trouble seeing Manchin or Sinema going for what they probably see as a leftie wish list item, even in reconciliation), since even with this it'd be questionable if we'd be able to save human civilization...