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

[Gravlen]

The cages aren't really the problem anymore. The overflow is.

A sudden overflow can create an unmanageable chaos for a few days, yes. But not for months. Not in the richest and most powerful country of the planet. There are hotels, many empty due to Covid. There are unoccupied houses owned by banks and used for speculation. There are many buildings owned by federal or local governments. There is no excuse apart from cold apathy or hatred, both of which are disgusting, for treating kids like that. They are children ! Doesn't matter their skin color, country of birth, religion. We have a collective responsibility to treat humanely and decently every single child. And our governments keep failing them, in USA and in EU alike. And it's really heartbreaking and shameful.

It is shameful, but I disagree that such chaos can't reasonably last for more than a few days. As I've shown before, the Biden administration has to pretty much rebuild a migrant registration and reception system from scratch, and they are doing so despite active opposition from the GOP, both centrally and locally. (And to be fair, many Democrats aren't enthusiastic about what can easily become a political anchor)

The reality is that things take time, and sometimes longer than I'd like. It's fair to give them credit for working to improve (create!) a system, and to be critical that it takes too long to get it in place. "Kids are still in cages, just like under Trump" is at best misleading, however. The willingness to do something now has to be viewed in light of the actively hostile and inhumane policies in place just three months ago.

Still, my prediction is that Biden won't get to the place where we'd ultimately like for him to be on immigration. The people of the US collectively hate immigrants too much for that to ever become a reality.

[Kilobugya]

The reality is that things take time, and sometimes longer than I'd like. It's fair to give them credit for working to improve (create!) a system, and to be critical that it takes too long to get it in place. "Kids are still in cages, just like under Trump" is at best misleading, however. The willingness to do something now has to be viewed in light of the actively hostile and inhumane policies in place just three months ago.

I do criticize Biden (and most Democrats) for being way too slow and timid in handling the situation, and I think they could have done much more much faster to treat the children humanely. But I'm not among those saying it's "just like under Trump". Trump was voluntarily and openly being cruel in order to scare immigrants for coming. Biden is not on that level of inhumanity, I do believe he's trying to improve things somewhat, but also that he doesn't care that much.

[Gravlen]

The reality is that things take time, and sometimes longer than I'd like. It's fair to give them credit for working to improve (create!) a system, and to be critical that it takes too long to get it in place. "Kids are still in cages, just like under Trump" is at best misleading, however. The willingness to do something now has to be viewed in light of the actively hostile and inhumane policies in place just three months ago.

I do criticize Biden (and most Democrats) for being way too slow and timid in handling the situation, and I think they could have done much more much faster to treat the children humanely. But I'm not among those saying it's "just like under Trump". Trump was voluntarily and openly being cruel in order to scare immigrants for coming. Biden is not on that level of inhumanity, I do believe he's trying to improve things somewhat, but also that he doesn't care that much.

I think you raise some good points, and I have to agree that they should be doing more and not be brow-beaten by Republicans who openly oppose the humane treatment of migrants.

It sometimes feel like this is one of the areas where the Democrats are willing to compromise: They want migrants to be treated humanely, while the GOP wants to treat them inhumanely - so they come together somewhere in the middle...

[Sengoku Americas]

I do criticize Biden (and most Democrats) for being way too slow and timid in handling the situation, and I think they could have done much more much faster to treat the children humanely. But I'm not among those saying it's "just like under Trump". Trump was voluntarily and openly being cruel in order to scare immigrants for coming. Biden is not on that level of inhumanity, I do believe he's trying to improve things somewhat, but also that he doesn't care that much.

I think you raise some good points, and I have to agree that they should be doing more and not be brow-beaten by Republicans who openly oppose the humane treatment of migrants.

It sometimes feel like this is one of the areas where the Democrats are willing to compromise: They want migrants to be treated humanely, while the GOP wants to treat them inhumanely - so they come together somewhere in the middle...

While I certainly don't want to make the equivalence- at least team blue doesn't appear to be outwardly hateful of migrants, and has changed some policies for the better- the fact remains that they have the power and means to make more substantial changes and refuse to use them.

[Gravlen]

I think you raise some good points, and I have to agree that they should be doing more and not be brow-beaten by Republicans who openly oppose the humane treatment of migrants.

It sometimes feel like this is one of the areas where the Democrats are willing to compromise: They want migrants to be treated humanely, while the GOP wants to treat them inhumanely - so they come together somewhere in the middle...

While I certainly don't want to make the equivalence- at least team blue doesn't appear to be outwardly hateful of migrants, and has changed some policies for the better- the fact remains that they have the power and means to make more substantial changes and refuse to use them.

Source on the refusal?

Because, as said above, I see "Things take time, sometimes more than I like" and not "We won't ever do this".

Also, is there a "Team Blue"? I mean, the Democratic party isn't unified like the GOP is, and contains everything from relatively far left politicians to moderate Republicans.

[Cannot think of a name]

Also, is there a "Team Blue"? I mean, the Democratic party isn't unified like the GOP is, and contains everything from relatively far left politicians to moderate Republicans.

From what I can tell the bases operate like...For the Republicans their elected officials can do no wrong and for the Democrats their elected officials can do nothing right.

[San Lumen]

https://www.mysuncoast.com/2021/03/29/r ... nate-seat/

Kelly Tshibaka, who has led the sprawling Alaska Department of Administration since early 2019 has announced she will challenge incumbent senator Lisa Murkowski as a Republican.

[Solarampa]

Don’t have a link but Thom Tillis, the Republican Senator from North Carolina has been diagnosed with cancer

[The Black Forrest]

https://www.mysuncoast.com/2021/03/29/republican-announces-run-murkowskis-alaska-senate-seat/

Kelly Tshibaka, who has led the sprawling Alaska Department of Administration since early 2019 has announced she will challenge incumbent senator Lisa Murkowski as a Republican.

Meh. Kelly has made voting fraud comments.

[San Lumen]

Don’t have a link but Thom Tillis, the Republican Senator from North Carolina has been diagnosed with cancer

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/29/politics ... index.html

North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis announces he has prostate cancer but expects full recovery

[The Black Forrest]

Don’t have a link but Thom Tillis, the Republican Senator from North Carolina has been diagnosed with cancer

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/29/politics ... index.html

North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis announces he has prostate cancer but expects full recovery

Ironic when considering all his efforts and comments about the ACA.

[Zurkerx]

A sudden overflow can create an unmanageable chaos for a few days, yes. But not for months. Not in the richest and most powerful country of the planet. There are hotels, many empty due to Covid. There are unoccupied houses owned by banks and used for speculation. There are many buildings owned by federal or local governments. There is no excuse apart from cold apathy or hatred, both of which are disgusting, for treating kids like that. They are children ! Doesn't matter their skin color, country of birth, religion. We have a collective responsibility to treat humanely and decently every single child. And our governments keep failing them, in USA and in EU alike. And it's really heartbreaking and shameful.

It is shameful, but I disagree that such chaos can't reasonably last for more than a few days. As I've shown before, the Biden administration has to pretty much rebuild a migrant registration and reception system from scratch, and they are doing so despite active opposition from the GOP, both centrally and locally. (And to be fair, many Democrats aren't enthusiastic about what can easily become a political anchor)

The reality is that things take time, and sometimes longer than I'd like. It's fair to give them credit for working to improve (create!) a system, and to be critical that it takes too long to get it in place. "Kids are still in cages, just like under Trump" is at best misleading, however. The willingness to do something now has to be viewed in light of the actively hostile and inhumane policies in place just three months ago.

Still, my prediction is that Biden won't get to the place where we'd ultimately like for him to be on immigration. The people of the US collectively hate immigrants too much for that to ever become a reality.

Americans don't have the patience, however, for that despite the fact that Trump made the immigration system even worst. Nor do they have the attention span to realize that either, and the GOP knows; taking advantage of voter stupidity is easy in this country. Essentially, it's a mess left for Biden to clean up, and one that will take years to do though he can only blame Trump for so long before voters say "it's your fault now".

[Zurkerx]

“Rather than competing for voters, they are trying to fence some voters out and make it harder for them to vote”: The States Where Efforts To Restrict Voting Are Escalating. This seems to be mostly targeted at Absentee Ballots right now though that is growing:

At this point, the most concerted effort appears to be centered on rolling back absentee voting, which shifted significantly toward Democrats in 2020 and helped clinch Biden’s victory. To some extent, given the expansion of absentee voting during the pandemic — and Republican voters’ skepticism of it — it’s not surprising that Republicans are primarily targeting this type of voting. But as Pérez told us, “Absentee ballots have been largely uncontroversial when they were used by older, whiter, Republican-leaning Americans,” but “as soon as communities of color started [using them] … we’re starting to see restrictions.” And up until the 2020 election, there really hadn’t been a partisan split in which party used mail-in voting.

[Cannot think of a name]

It is shameful, but I disagree that such chaos can't reasonably last for more than a few days. As I've shown before, the Biden administration has to pretty much rebuild a migrant registration and reception system from scratch, and they are doing so despite active opposition from the GOP, both centrally and locally. (And to be fair, many Democrats aren't enthusiastic about what can easily become a political anchor)

The reality is that things take time, and sometimes longer than I'd like. It's fair to give them credit for working to improve (create!) a system, and to be critical that it takes too long to get it in place. "Kids are still in cages, just like under Trump" is at best misleading, however. The willingness to do something now has to be viewed in light of the actively hostile and inhumane policies in place just three months ago.

Still, my prediction is that Biden won't get to the place where we'd ultimately like for him to be on immigration. The people of the US collectively hate immigrants too much for that to ever become a reality.

Americans don't have the patience, however, for that despite the fact that Trump made the immigration system even worst. Nor do they have the attention span to realize that either, and the GOP knows; taking advantage of voter stupidity is easy in this country. Essentially, it's a mess left for Biden to clean up, and one that will take years to do though he can only blame Trump for so long before voters say "it's your fault now".

This thread was doing that before the confetti was swept up from the inauguration.

[Austria-Bohemia-Hungary]

Mfw you are dealing with long term geopolitical and economical issues with no easy way out, yet your modern voting demographic demands instant gratification.

[Major-Tom]

Don’t have a link but Thom Tillis, the Republican Senator from North Carolina has been diagnosed with cancer

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/29/politics ... index.html

North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis announces he has prostate cancer but expects full recovery

It's Prostate Cancer, honestly, with early detection the survival rate is something like 99%.

[San Lumen]

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article ... 060895.php

New accuser alleges Cuomo kissed her in front of her family. This brings us to ten I think.

[Shrillland]

Meanwhile, things have been proceeding in the Albuquerque Central byelection for June 1. On Saturday, the Republicans chose their candidate via convention as required by law: State Senator Mark Moores got the nomination with 49 votes over six other candidates. The Democrats will choose their nominee tomorrow.

[Kowani]

Meanwhile, vaccines

President Biden is set to announce that 90 percent of U.S. adults will be eligible for vaccination and will have a vaccination site within 5 miles of where they live by April 19, the White House said Monday.
Biden will also announce in a speech Monday afternoon that the number of pharmacies in the federal vaccination program will more than double, from 17,000 to 40,000, by the same date.

[Alcala-Cordel]

This is wholly misleading, Biden has made effort to reform the cruel Trump-era immigration system. Yes, problems do exist and we should criticize Biden on those, but I don't expect a grandstanding one-liner implicitly equating Biden with Trump to be helpful and informative.

https://apnews.com/article/fact-checkin ... 9970724533

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/us/b ... house.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... ot-hardly/

Agreed. President Biden is making an effort to reform the cruel Trump era immigration system. However, The number of unaccompanied minors crossing our borders has approached record numbers. There has to be a hard cap at some point because we cannot possibly take care of every child in Central America.

I notice the talking point has shifted from “just give him time, you can’t expect Biden to do it immediately”.
Again, the context does not justify caging children in concentration camps. The US government could do so much better if it spent a tiny fraction of that money they spent on the military to help these children, but they’re hardly doing anything because they don’t really care. Stop making excuses for the monstrous behavior of the Biden administration, being “better than Trump” is not enough.

Biden and Harris have both spent their careers as politicians working to expand the prison population. Do you really think they’ve changed?

[San Lumen]

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5 ... 78.twitter

Disgraced former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens leads big in Senate primary. Greitens leads 48 to 11 over AG Eric Schmitt.

[Gravlen]

Agreed. President Biden is making an effort to reform the cruel Trump era immigration system. However, The number of unaccompanied minors crossing our borders has approached record numbers. There has to be a hard cap at some point because we cannot possibly take care of every child in Central America.

I notice the talking point has shifted from “just give him time, you can’t expect Biden to do it immediately”.
Again, the context does not justify caging children in concentration camps. The US government could do so much better if it spent a tiny fraction of that money they spent on the military to help these children, but they’re hardly doing anything because they don’t really care. Stop making excuses for the monstrous behavior of the Biden administration, being “better than Trump” is not enough.

Biden and Harris have both spent their careers as politicians working to expand the prison population. Do you really think they’ve changed?

Explain to me how you think children are being kept in concentration camps?

Currently, if a child arrives in the US together with family members, they are processed (criminal background checks and full health screenings) and then released with orders to appear in court.

Peter Schey, the lawyer for the class of detained children at the family detention centers, said he was happy that the Biden administration appears to be moving towards releasing the families together.

"It has always been a waste of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayers' money and really inhumane to detain mothers with their children who are not a flight risk or danger to the United States," said Schey, who has been negotiating with the Biden administration and shared some details of the plans being discussed. "So we're cautiously optimistic about recent developments."

The move represents a dramatic shift from the enforcement-focused Trump administration, but also the Obama administration, which resurrected and expanded the controversial practice of detaining immigrant families in response to a 2014 surge of mostly Central American families and children fleeing violence and poverty.

The administration is under tremendous pressure from advocates to reverse many of Trump policies that made life exceptionally difficult for the undocumented community.

The Biden administration has already taken several steps in that direction, including providing protections for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children, reuniting separated families and ending policies that required applicants for asylum to stay in Mexico while they awaited court hearings.

Converting the two facilities into processing centers would presumably limit the amount of time they would stay in U.S. government custody. By reducing the length of time in the centers to 72 hours, the administration would also be complying with the Flores Settlement Agreement, which limits the amount of time any child can remain in detention.

But the Biden administration is also facing a rapidly growing influx of migrants at the border that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas described as a "stressful challenge."

If an unaccompanied minor arrives in the US, they are kept at a border facility until they can be transferred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The ORR seeks to put the minors in contact with their parents, guardians or relatives and release them into their care.

So the new developments under Biden is that migrant children are no longer placed in long term internment centres upon arrival, but rather pass through relocation centres where they're held temporarily until they can be released.

One of the most visible differences between Trump and Biden is exactly this, by the way: You could argue that the camps Trump ran were concentration camps, as they kept migrant families in the camps and didn't let them be released into the US. The changes Biden has made, which focuses on getting migrant children and families out of the centers, is substantial and makes it difficult to draw comparisons between the two.

[San Lumen]

https://kstp.com/politics/minnesota-law ... ?cat=12681

Minnesota lawmaker proposes succession for rural counties to border states especially South Dakota.

Rep. Jeremy Munson, of Lake Crystal, introduced the bill and tweeted out an image promoting a union with South Dakota. It shows nearly every county west of the Twin Cities metro as part of a newly imagined South Dakota.

“Minnesota becomes more politically polarized every year and the metro politicians have shown us that rural Minnesotans are no longer represented by St Paul. It’s time to leave,” read a webpage on Munson’s campaign website.

Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem appeared to support Munson’s idea by retweeting his plan with a note that said her state will “roll out the red carpet for people who love personal responsibility” and freedom.

Its unlikely this goes anywhere.

[Kowani]

White House plans to expand wind farms along the East Coast and jump-start the nascent offshore wind industry in the U.S. The plan would generate 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by the end of the decade.

[North Washington Republic]

Agreed. President Biden is making an effort to reform the cruel Trump era immigration system. However, The number of unaccompanied minors crossing our borders has approached record numbers. There has to be a hard cap at some point because we cannot possibly take care of every child in Central America.

I notice the talking point has shifted from “just give him time, you can’t expect Biden to do it immediately”.
Again, the context does not justify caging children in concentration camps. The US government could do so much better if it spent a tiny fraction of that money they spent on the military to help these children, but they’re hardly doing anything because they don’t really care. Stop making excuses for the monstrous behavior of the Biden administration, being “better than Trump” is not enough.

Biden and Harris have both spent their careers as politicians working to expand the prison population. Do you really think they’ve changed?

President Biden is building the infrastructure needed to house these children humanely. This did not exist under the Trump administration. To equate the two policies is purely based on ideology and not on the fact. President Biden is not ripping babies from their mother’s arms, unlike the former guy. He cannot snap his fingers and magically find appropriate housing for these children. I don’t believe that we should take money from our military because of escalating tensions with China and Russia. Also, I believe he does care, and to act like he is saying “screw them” is just plain not true by his words and by his actions.

Also, bringing the President and Vice President records on expanding ing the prison population is irrelevant. We are talking about minor children, not violent criminals.