Markets continue an absolute free-fall today as Mnuchin made a panicked plea to banks over the weekend (before leaving on a tropical vacation). There was actually signs that today might have stemmed the bleeding, then Trump, who seems to have isolated himself in the White House like some kind of 3rd-rate Howard Hughes, made some asinine comment about the Federal Reserve on Twitter, and stocks then plummeted minutes later. It is amazing to watch him lay blame everywhere but his doorstep when he claimed 100% credit when it was on an uptick. This was always the trap he laid for himself when he tied his success to the Dow Jones Index.
The GoFundMe campaign for the Wall is now the highest grossing FundMe campaign the site has ever run: $16.2 million dollars.
In comparison, national tragedies such as Canada's Humboldt Broncos bus crash victims raised $11.2 million and the Parkland shooting raised $10.1 million (the former two leaders).
Both of those were backed by legitimate charities that made sure/are making sure that the victims are actually getting the donations that they need.
The wall is being backed by a conspiracy theorist who is just saying "take my word." GoFundMe doesn't work like Kickstarter where one needs to reach their goal to get people's donations. Reaching the goal is not required and the money can be withdrawn at anytime.
This campaign just proves how easily people are conned and why police departments still have to issue warnings about receiving emails for Nigerian Princes looking for a bank account to stash money in. This is going to end up with the money vanishing, GoFundMe being blamed and sued for the campaign.
The GoFundMe campaign for the Wall is now the highest grossing FundMe campaign the site has ever run: $16.2 million dollars.
In comparison, national tragedies such as Canada's Humboldt Broncos bus crash victims raised $11.2 million and the Parkland shooting raised $10.1 million (the former two leaders).
Both of those were backed by legitimate charities that made sure/are making sure that the victims are actually getting the donations that they need.
The wall is being backed by a conspiracy theorist who is just saying "take my word." GoFundMe doesn't work like Kickstarter where one needs to reach their goal to get people's donations. Reaching the goal is not required and the money can be withdrawn at anytime.
This campaign just proves how easily people are conned and why police departments still have to issue warnings about receiving emails for Nigerian Princes looking for a bank account to stash money in. This is going to end up with the money vanishing, GoFundMe being blamed and sued for the campaign.
16 million is also 3/10 of 1% of what the wall is estimated to cost.
Wasn't there a guy that died because his GoFundMe couldn't raise $50 for his insulin shot? But a bunch of suckers can throw money at a useless wall but paying a bit more in taxes to get everyone healthcare you'd get those same idiots crying and bawling on the floor about 'big gubmint'. But they turn around and throw away money at a conman who says he's raising money for a conman.
@Balrog99 Well, under Republicans we get the economy dropping, gerrymandering, and backpedaling civil rights. When Democrats are in office (assuming they aren't stonewalled by republicans in other branches) they tend to be so busy fixing everything broken by the previous administration, I'd be surprised if they COULD do much of anyththing else. I think we need to give them a neutral starting point to see what can raelly do. If you mean historically, we got civil rights because of liberals, slightly better healthcare under liberals, and more voting rights under librals.
@Balrog99 Well, under Republicans we get the economy dropping, gerrymandering, and backpedaling civil rights. When Democrats are in office (assuming they aren't stonewalled by republicans in other branches) they tend to be so busy fixing everything broken by the previous administration, I'd be surprised if they COULD do much of anyththing else. I think we need to give them a neutral starting point to see what can raelly do. If you mean historically, we got civil rights because of liberals, slightly better healthcare under liberals, and more voting rights under librals.
This is generally true since the tectonic shift that took place because of the Civil Rights Act. Before that, Republicans actually were the party better on civil rights. What took place at that time is that every Southern "Dixiecrat" basically left the party, and Nixon took them into the fold. It's pointless to discuss our modern political fault-lines without starting in 1964, because that's where this all starts.
Recent history DOES indicate better economies under Democrats. You have to go back to Carter to find an exception to this rule. Trump has already played his tax cut hand. It did nothing. Now the market is coming back to Earth. I don't see any way he can survive a recession if it goes that far. If Trump can't point to a stable economy, all he has left is ramping up the immigration fear card as high as possible. Which he is basically already doing.
1964 was a pretty huge shift. LBJ turned a huge portion of our party politics upside-down by pushing for civil rights as a Democrat. Before then, the Republican party's base was minorities and rich urban whites, and the Democratic party's base was poor rural whites. The GOP absorbed the latter after 1964, while rich urban whites started splitting between the GOP and the Democratic party.
1964 was a pretty huge shift. LBJ turned a huge portion of our party politics upside-down by pushing for civil rights as a Democrat. Before then, the Republican party's base was minorities and rich urban whites, and the Democratic party's base was poor rural whites. The GOP absorbed the latter after 1964, while rich urban whites started splitting between the GOP and the Democratic party.
Johnson himself was pretty damn racist, which makes his push for it's passage (and he leaned harder on Congress than probably any President in history to get it done) all the more remarkable. It seemed to have been a combination of ego (he relished in being able to accomplish something Kennedy had not) and seeing the statua quo as unsustainable.
This is the 3rd government shutdown since Trump took office with his party in control of both the House and Senate. Unless my memory is way off, EVERY time it has been about wall funding. Has anyone even talked to any engineers and geologists about how this thing would even hypothetically get built if it DID have the funding?? And now apparently it's not going to be a wall but a steel barrier??
First Mexico was going to pay for it, then it shifted to the American tax payer, but don't worry because a trade deal that hasn't even been ratified will pay for it (which is not only not true, but not even possible). We hear it's going to be a wall. Then it's going to be a beautiful "see-through" wall. I seem to remember last year they were claiming some repairs on some fence qualified as a start on the wall. Now apparently as of Saturday December 22nd, 2018, we have shifted to a steel slat barrier. How can anyone even keep up with this nonsense?? If Trump's border wall promise should teach any politician anything, it's to never make such an absurdly INSANE promise the focus of your campaign. He can't possibly deliver on it, not just because Congress won't fund it, but because it may not even be possible to build the damn thing based on geography. Thus, we are stuck in a perpetual argument over something that is as close to make-believe as any major political issue I have ever seen. We might as well be arguing about whether we should give Sauron money to rebuild the Black Gate to protect Mordor. This is just so unbelievably DUMB on top of everything else. A serious country would not be having this discussion.
Politics is more and more built on perception, and emotion, not reality (on both sides I'm afraid). I'd be more than happy to come up with some compromise with the liberals in this forum that would leave all of us feeling a bit empty but that would likely be an improvement over what we have now. We don't need to get people's votes though, so the point would be rather moot. It seems we have to jump on this damned teeter-totter every 4 or 8 years where whichever party gets 51% of the vote (give or take a couple percent) gets to Lord it over the other like they don't exist. As bad as Trump is I bet he's still able to get around 45% of the vote by the time the election cycle is over, if hes around that long. That's about 70-80 million more votes than I'd get...
I would guess the delusion on the left would be that Bernie Sanders is going to walk into the White House and somehow pass Medicare for All and free college within his first two years. Neither of which has any chance of happening with the way the Senate is currently tilted toward conservative States. If Obama had made such a promise and stuck to it, rather than going for the incremental steps of the ACA, he would have walked away with nothing. What (especially in retrospect) I appreciate more about Hillary is that she had actual plans to implement modest change, rather than no plan to implement massive change.
I was thinking more on the lines that Ocasio-Cortez (or Bernie) is going to pass free university, free healthcare, free houses, a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage by taxing Bill Gates and the evil Amazon/Wal-Mart/oil companies/pharmaceutical companies and car companies (while somehow keeping people employed - I guess by employing them to count all of the wealth that will flow into the government coffers).
Oh, and don't forget saving the entire Earth by implementing a 'carbon tax' on the US. All they need is the stigmata to prove how righteous they are.
The only thing I'll say here is that it is long past time the Democrats in the House had a couple "radicals" of their own (and I'm talking less than 10) to counter the talk-radioification that has taken over the Republican side of that chamber. The reason AOC seems so novel is because she IS novel. No one has even been talking about her core issues in remotely the same way until she showed up. In a body with over 400 members, having a small handful who hold those views isn't the worst thing in the world, if only because the Overton Window has swung SO far to right since Reagan.
Well, her message will resonate with the young and clueless so it's probably a good thing for your party. The party that occasionally represents me has endless old, white dudes in a suit and tie. Inspiring, if it was 1952...
This is the 3rd government shutdown since Trump took office with his party in control of both the House and Senate. Unless my memory is way off, EVERY time it has been about wall funding. Has anyone even talked to any engineers and geologists about how this thing would even hypothetically get built if it DID have the funding?? And now apparently it's not going to be a wall but a steel barrier??
First Mexico was going to pay for it, then it shifted to the American tax payer, but don't worry because a trade deal that hasn't even been ratified will pay for it (which is not only not true, but not even possible). We hear it's going to be a wall. Then it's going to be a beautiful "see-through" wall. I seem to remember last year they were claiming some repairs on some fence qualified as a start on the wall. Now apparently as of Saturday December 22nd, 2018, we have shifted to a steel slat barrier. How can anyone even keep up with this nonsense?? If Trump's border wall promise should teach any politician anything, it's to never make such an absurdly INSANE promise the focus of your campaign. He can't possibly deliver on it, not just because Congress won't fund it, but because it may not even be possible to build the damn thing based on geography. Thus, we are stuck in a perpetual argument over something that is as close to make-believe as any major political issue I have ever seen. We might as well be arguing about whether we should give Sauron money to rebuild the Black Gate to protect Mordor. This is just so unbelievably DUMB on top of everything else. A serious country would not be having this discussion.
Politics is more and more built on perception, and emotion, not reality (on both sides I'm afraid). I'd be more than happy to come up with some compromise with the liberals in this forum that would leave all of us feeling a bit empty but that would likely be an improvement over what we have now. We don't need to get people's votes though, so the point would be rather moot. It seems we have to jump on this damned teeter-totter every 4 or 8 years where whichever party gets 51% of the vote (give or take a couple percent) gets to Lord it over the other like they don't exist. As bad as Trump is I bet he's still able to get around 45% of the vote by the time the election cycle is over, if hes around that long. That's about 70-80 million more votes than I'd get...
I would guess the delusion on the left would be that Bernie Sanders is going to walk into the White House and somehow pass Medicare for All and free college within his first two years. Neither of which has any chance of happening with the way the Senate is currently tilted toward conservative States. If Obama had made such a promise and stuck to it, rather than going for the incremental steps of the ACA, he would have walked away with nothing. What (especially in retrospect) I appreciate more about Hillary is that she had actual plans to implement modest change, rather than no plan to implement massive change.
I was thinking more on the lines that Ocasio-Cortez (or Bernie) is going to pass free university, free healthcare, free houses, a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage by taxing Bill Gates and the evil Amazon/Wal-Mart/oil companies/pharmaceutical companies and car companies (while somehow keeping people employed - I guess by employing them to count all of the wealth that will flow into the government coffers).
Oh, and don't forget saving the entire Earth by implementing a 'carbon tax' on the US. All they need is the stigmata to prove how righteous they are.
Saving the earth isn't righteous. It just needs to be done.
Free University and free healthcare, which of course are not free but funded from your taxes, are a thing in many countries. Why can't it work here in the richest country in the world?
Why do tax cuts have to be the only goal? 'Screw you I gots mine' doesn't make for a healthy society. How about we get stuff that improves people's lives for our taxes? And we shift the burden of taxes back to the wealthy from the middle class. With the GOP tax cuts the middle class effectively pay more taxes than the rich who can employ tax avoidance schemes as well.
Currently the rich own the politicians due to Citizens United ruling. Especially the Republican party they are completely responsive to the rich and corporations they ignore regular people. Republicans don't even bother with town halls because they listen to their donors.
In my eyes the Democratic Party is no better. They just preach more. Name one great thing that they preach about that they actually fight for. They get their gold from the rich as well. They just hide it better. They throw the commoners a bone once in a while to get votes then blame the evil Republicans for everything they don't get. They're the main reason our tax laws take 'expert' lawyers to figure out. The same 'expert' lawyers that make sure the rich have all the loopholes because the rich are the ones that pay them. The far-right AND the far-left will never get anything but lies from the powers that be. I'd like to see both sides get some of the bones but they'd rather blame each other for getting nothing. Meanwhile, our politicians are laughing all the way to the bank. Trump is just the most obvious...
When the Dems have all the power, what changes? When the Repubs have the power, what changes? They argue and fight about puissant nothings
I'd like to see one plan from either party where the real cost is plainly stated so everybody could understand and make an enlightened choice. Oh no, it's "You get to keep your doctor", or "the rich will pay for it" and on the other side, "we don't need a government unless it's to enforce our morals", or "a wall will solve all our problems".
When Republicans are in Power, they don't care about deficit. When Democrats are in power, the Republicans are all suddenly worried about the deficit. When the Democrats are in power, they try to help the people on the bottom. They also do this when Republicans are in power. Republicans only cqre about abortions when the Democrats are in power. Otherwise, they really don't care- because they need something to get their base riled up about. and if they actually did something about it, they would lose that hold on their base.
https://www.wired.com/story/why-hotel-workers-strike-reverberated-through-tech/?fbclid=IwAR0dNfZhuj56nc-3nRL3QSCgNs1Qxz5LiakghKGiND5YNjeXHzqO399vsrI 2018 WAS THE year that Big Tech’s mission statements came back to haunt it. When employees felt that their products were damaging the world and that management wouldn't listen, they went public with their protests. At Google and Amazon, they challenged contracts to sell artificial intelligence and facial-recognition technology to the Pentagon and police. At Microsoft and Salesforce, workers argued against selling cloud computing services to agencies separating families at the border. Technology’s unintended consequences were also central to the most disruptive labor action in the Bay Area this year, a strike by nearly 8,000 Marriott employees, including many in downtown San Francisco, just a dockless scooter ride from the headquarters of many major tech firms. Unite Here, the union representing strikers in eight cities, including San Jose and Oakland, demanded limits on automation like facial recognition at the front desk or the use of Alexa in lieu of a concierge. Marriott agreed to notify workers 150 days before implementing new technology and to give workers committee representation while the technology is still in development, among other protections.
ENTERTAINMENT Cat Kicks Baby Jesus Out of the Manger and Takes a Nap
Maher Thanks Trump For Exposing Evangelicals As ‘Shameless Hypocrites’
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2016/11/maher-thanks-trump-for-exposing-evangelicals-as-shameless-hypocrites/?fbclid=IwAR3PBxtGEPLHGKDc8wnjpJ4iQu5cc8wqys0WG7gacK459vyUKHbc1d5KYyE Bill Maher finds something nice to say about Donald Trump. HBO’s Real Time host Bill Maher thanks Donald Trump for exposing the shameless hypocrisy of evangelical Christians. Beginning his New Rules segment, Maher declared: Before leaving this election behind, we must all thank Donald Trump for the one good thing he did: he exposed Evangelicals – who are big Trump supporters – as the shameless hypocrites they’ve always been. Maher noted that this year’s presidential election is the first in recent years where the GOP didn’t use faith as a selling point, noting: It’s hard to bring up the Ten Commandments when your candidate has spent most his life breaking all of them.
A 5-Month-Old Girl Has Been Hospitalized With Pneumonia After Being Detained By The Border Patrol
Meet Stephen Miller, the 32-year-old White House adviser who convinced Trump to start separating migrant children from their parents at the border
https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-stephen-miller-trump-speechwriter-immigration-adviser-2018-1?fbclid=IwAR0Ci0wN6wnV0c20v92S-dISDdqHbW1oA8RRBx5MSX0txiNosUlTMecHSCQ White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller is on the front lines as President Donald Trump's administration butts heads with Democratic lawmakers over Trump's wishes for a $5-billion border wall. Miller was previously identified as the driving force behind the Trump administration's controversial immigration policies. At 32 years old, he has been a rising star on the far right for years, making headlines because of his polarizing demeanor and statements long before his time in the administration.
And speaking of "Witch hunts"...
THE US WITCH POPULATION HAS SEEN AN ASTRONOMICAL RISE
https://qz.com/quartzy/1411909/the-explosive-growth-of-witches-wiccans-and-pagans-in-the-us/?fbclid=IwAR0J_xCPqH0wvP2pcAJ-gVlNQ78-3QSlBeOsPxzk1PHGB3rHMrglwXt76f8 Spirituality is now firmly placed in mainstream culture. The growing interest in astrology driven by millennials, as well as the popularity of crystals and tarot cards via the ballooning wellness industry, have brought mysticism from the fringes, and right into your Instagram feed. However, as the cosmetics giant Sephora recently found out, mysticism and its more formal manifestation, witch culture, are not topics to be taken lightly. When the company tried to commodify and condense witch-related practices into a “Starter Witch Kit,” they managed to piss off a bunch of actual witches, forcing the kit’s manufacturer to apologize and pull the product. The kit was clearly aimed at dabblers in witchcraft, rather than those who actually practice it, which was perhaps part of the miscalculation. Data on the existing population of self-identified practicing witches suggests that a robust—and growing—witch community exists. By the numbers: witches, Wiccans, and Pagans Though the data is sparse, what we do know is that the practice of witchcraft has seen major growth in recent decades. As the witch aesthetic has risen, so has the number of people who identify as witches. The best source of data on the number of witches in the US comes from assessments of the Wicca population. Not all people who practice witchcraft consider themselves Wicca, but the religion makes up a significant subset, as Alden Wicker noted for Quartz in 2016.
This is the 3rd government shutdown since Trump took office with his party in control of both the House and Senate. Unless my memory is way off, EVERY time it has been about wall funding. Has anyone even talked to any engineers and geologists about how this thing would even hypothetically get built if it DID have the funding?? And now apparently it's not going to be a wall but a steel barrier??
First Mexico was going to pay for it, then it shifted to the American tax payer, but don't worry because a trade deal that hasn't even been ratified will pay for it (which is not only not true, but not even possible). We hear it's going to be a wall. Then it's going to be a beautiful "see-through" wall. I seem to remember last year they were claiming some repairs on some fence qualified as a start on the wall. Now apparently as of Saturday December 22nd, 2018, we have shifted to a steel slat barrier. How can anyone even keep up with this nonsense?? If Trump's border wall promise should teach any politician anything, it's to never make such an absurdly INSANE promise the focus of your campaign. He can't possibly deliver on it, not just because Congress won't fund it, but because it may not even be possible to build the damn thing based on geography. Thus, we are stuck in a perpetual argument over something that is as close to make-believe as any major political issue I have ever seen. We might as well be arguing about whether we should give Sauron money to rebuild the Black Gate to protect Mordor. This is just so unbelievably DUMB on top of everything else. A serious country would not be having this discussion.
Politics is more and more built on perception, and emotion, not reality (on both sides I'm afraid). I'd be more than happy to come up with some compromise with the liberals in this forum that would leave all of us feeling a bit empty but that would likely be an improvement over what we have now. We don't need to get people's votes though, so the point would be rather moot. It seems we have to jump on this damned teeter-totter every 4 or 8 years where whichever party gets 51% of the vote (give or take a couple percent) gets to Lord it over the other like they don't exist. As bad as Trump is I bet he's still able to get around 45% of the vote by the time the election cycle is over, if hes around that long. That's about 70-80 million more votes than I'd get...
I would guess the delusion on the left would be that Bernie Sanders is going to walk into the White House and somehow pass Medicare for All and free college within his first two years. Neither of which has any chance of happening with the way the Senate is currently tilted toward conservative States. If Obama had made such a promise and stuck to it, rather than going for the incremental steps of the ACA, he would have walked away with nothing. What (especially in retrospect) I appreciate more about Hillary is that she had actual plans to implement modest change, rather than no plan to implement massive change.
I was thinking more on the lines that Ocasio-Cortez (or Bernie) is going to pass free university, free healthcare, free houses, a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage by taxing Bill Gates and the evil Amazon/Wal-Mart/oil companies/pharmaceutical companies and car companies (while somehow keeping people employed - I guess by employing them to count all of the wealth that will flow into the government coffers).
Oh, and don't forget saving the entire Earth by implementing a 'carbon tax' on the US. All they need is the stigmata to prove how righteous they are.
The only thing I'll say here is that it is long past time the Democrats in the House had a couple "radicals" of their own (and I'm talking less than 10) to counter the talk-radioification that has taken over the Republican side of that chamber. The reason AOC seems so novel is because she IS novel. No one has even been talking about her core issues in remotely the same way until she showed up. In a body with over 400 members, having a small handful who hold those views isn't the worst thing in the world, if only because the Overton Window has swung SO far to right since Reagan.
Well, her message will resonate with the young and clueless so it's probably a good thing for your party. The party that occasionally represents me has endless old, white dudes in a suit and tie. Inspiring, if it was 1952...
This is the 3rd government shutdown since Trump took office with his party in control of both the House and Senate. Unless my memory is way off, EVERY time it has been about wall funding. Has anyone even talked to any engineers and geologists about how this thing would even hypothetically get built if it DID have the funding?? And now apparently it's not going to be a wall but a steel barrier??
First Mexico was going to pay for it, then it shifted to the American tax payer, but don't worry because a trade deal that hasn't even been ratified will pay for it (which is not only not true, but not even possible). We hear it's going to be a wall. Then it's going to be a beautiful "see-through" wall. I seem to remember last year they were claiming some repairs on some fence qualified as a start on the wall. Now apparently as of Saturday December 22nd, 2018, we have shifted to a steel slat barrier. How can anyone even keep up with this nonsense?? If Trump's border wall promise should teach any politician anything, it's to never make such an absurdly INSANE promise the focus of your campaign. He can't possibly deliver on it, not just because Congress won't fund it, but because it may not even be possible to build the damn thing based on geography. Thus, we are stuck in a perpetual argument over something that is as close to make-believe as any major political issue I have ever seen. We might as well be arguing about whether we should give Sauron money to rebuild the Black Gate to protect Mordor. This is just so unbelievably DUMB on top of everything else. A serious country would not be having this discussion.
Politics is more and more built on perception, and emotion, not reality (on both sides I'm afraid). I'd be more than happy to come up with some compromise with the liberals in this forum that would leave all of us feeling a bit empty but that would likely be an improvement over what we have now. We don't need to get people's votes though, so the point would be rather moot. It seems we have to jump on this damned teeter-totter every 4 or 8 years where whichever party gets 51% of the vote (give or take a couple percent) gets to Lord it over the other like they don't exist. As bad as Trump is I bet he's still able to get around 45% of the vote by the time the election cycle is over, if hes around that long. That's about 70-80 million more votes than I'd get...
I would guess the delusion on the left would be that Bernie Sanders is going to walk into the White House and somehow pass Medicare for All and free college within his first two years. Neither of which has any chance of happening with the way the Senate is currently tilted toward conservative States. If Obama had made such a promise and stuck to it, rather than going for the incremental steps of the ACA, he would have walked away with nothing. What (especially in retrospect) I appreciate more about Hillary is that she had actual plans to implement modest change, rather than no plan to implement massive change.
I was thinking more on the lines that Ocasio-Cortez (or Bernie) is going to pass free university, free healthcare, free houses, a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage by taxing Bill Gates and the evil Amazon/Wal-Mart/oil companies/pharmaceutical companies and car companies (while somehow keeping people employed - I guess by employing them to count all of the wealth that will flow into the government coffers).
Oh, and don't forget saving the entire Earth by implementing a 'carbon tax' on the US. All they need is the stigmata to prove how righteous they are.
Saving the earth isn't righteous. It just needs to be done.
Free University and free healthcare, which of course are not free but funded from your taxes, are a thing in many countries. Why can't it work here in the richest country in the world?
Why do tax cuts have to be the only goal? 'Screw you I gots mine' doesn't make for a healthy society. How about we get stuff that improves people's lives for our taxes? And we shift the burden of taxes back to the wealthy from the middle class. With the GOP tax cuts the middle class effectively pay more taxes than the rich who can employ tax avoidance schemes as well.
Currently the rich own the politicians due to Citizens United ruling. Especially the Republican party they are completely responsive to the rich and corporations they ignore regular people. Republicans don't even bother with town halls because they listen to their donors.
In my eyes the Democratic Party is no better. They just preach more. Name one great thing that they preach about that they actually fight for. They get their gold from the rich as well. They just hide it better. They throw the commoners a bone once in a while to get votes then blame the evil Republicans for everything they don't get. They're the main reason our tax laws take 'expert' lawyers to figure out. The same 'expert' lawyers that make sure the rich have all the loopholes because the rich are the ones that pay them. The far-right AND the far-left will never get anything but lies from the powers that be. I'd like to see both sides get some of the bones but they'd rather blame each other for getting nothing. Meanwhile, our politicians are laughing all the way to the bank. Trump is just the most obvious...
When the Dems have all the power, what changes? When the Repubs have the power, what changes? They argue and fight about puissant nothings
I'd like to see one plan from either party where the real cost is plainly stated so everybody could understand and make an enlightened choice. Oh no, it's "You get to keep your doctor", or "the rich will pay for it" and on the other side, "we don't need a government unless it's to enforce our morals", or "a wall will solve all our problems".
When Republicans are in Power, they don't care about deficit. When Democrats are in power, the Republicans are all suddenly worried about the deficit. When the Democrats are in power, they try to help the people on the bottom. They also do this when Republicans are in power. Republicans only cqre about abortions when the Democrats are in power. Otherwise, they really don't care- because they need something to get their base riled up about. and if they actually did something about it, they would lose that hold on their base.
Yeah. Democrats certainly don't do everything right but they will do the right thing generally. They generally aren't interested in screwing people over. They will respond to the people if you press them.
Republicans only respond to corporations and millionaires and billionaires. They appeal to the worst in people: racism, homophobia, religious bigotry. They seem to actively try to hurt people to benefit business interests.
The both sides are the same argument is just not true.
This is the 3rd government shutdown since Trump took office with his party in control of both the House and Senate. Unless my memory is way off, EVERY time it has been about wall funding. Has anyone even talked to any engineers and geologists about how this thing would even hypothetically get built if it DID have the funding?? And now apparently it's not going to be a wall but a steel barrier??
First Mexico was going to pay for it, then it shifted to the American tax payer, but don't worry because a trade deal that hasn't even been ratified will pay for it (which is not only not true, but not even possible). We hear it's going to be a wall. Then it's going to be a beautiful "see-through" wall. I seem to remember last year they were claiming some repairs on some fence qualified as a start on the wall. Now apparently as of Saturday December 22nd, 2018, we have shifted to a steel slat barrier. How can anyone even keep up with this nonsense?? If Trump's border wall promise should teach any politician anything, it's to never make such an absurdly INSANE promise the focus of your campaign. He can't possibly deliver on it, not just because Congress won't fund it, but because it may not even be possible to build the damn thing based on geography. Thus, we are stuck in a perpetual argument over something that is as close to make-believe as any major political issue I have ever seen. We might as well be arguing about whether we should give Sauron money to rebuild the Black Gate to protect Mordor. This is just so unbelievably DUMB on top of everything else. A serious country would not be having this discussion.
Politics is more and more built on perception, and emotion, not reality (on both sides I'm afraid). I'd be more than happy to come up with some compromise with the liberals in this forum that would leave all of us feeling a bit empty but that would likely be an improvement over what we have now. We don't need to get people's votes though, so the point would be rather moot. It seems we have to jump on this damned teeter-totter every 4 or 8 years where whichever party gets 51% of the vote (give or take a couple percent) gets to Lord it over the other like they don't exist. As bad as Trump is I bet he's still able to get around 45% of the vote by the time the election cycle is over, if hes around that long. That's about 70-80 million more votes than I'd get...
I would guess the delusion on the left would be that Bernie Sanders is going to walk into the White House and somehow pass Medicare for All and free college within his first two years. Neither of which has any chance of happening with the way the Senate is currently tilted toward conservative States. If Obama had made such a promise and stuck to it, rather than going for the incremental steps of the ACA, he would have walked away with nothing. What (especially in retrospect) I appreciate more about Hillary is that she had actual plans to implement modest change, rather than no plan to implement massive change.
I was thinking more on the lines that Ocasio-Cortez (or Bernie) is going to pass free university, free healthcare, free houses, a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage by taxing Bill Gates and the evil Amazon/Wal-Mart/oil companies/pharmaceutical companies and car companies (while somehow keeping people employed - I guess by employing them to count all of the wealth that will flow into the government coffers).
Oh, and don't forget saving the entire Earth by implementing a 'carbon tax' on the US. All they need is the stigmata to prove how righteous they are.
The only thing I'll say here is that it is long past time the Democrats in the House had a couple "radicals" of their own (and I'm talking less than 10) to counter the talk-radioification that has taken over the Republican side of that chamber. The reason AOC seems so novel is because she IS novel. No one has even been talking about her core issues in remotely the same way until she showed up. In a body with over 400 members, having a small handful who hold those views isn't the worst thing in the world, if only because the Overton Window has swung SO far to right since Reagan.
Well, her message will resonate with the young and clueless so it's probably a good thing for your party. The party that occasionally represents me has endless old, white dudes in a suit and tie. Inspiring, if it was 1952...
This is the 3rd government shutdown since Trump took office with his party in control of both the House and Senate. Unless my memory is way off, EVERY time it has been about wall funding. Has anyone even talked to any engineers and geologists about how this thing would even hypothetically get built if it DID have the funding?? And now apparently it's not going to be a wall but a steel barrier??
First Mexico was going to pay for it, then it shifted to the American tax payer, but don't worry because a trade deal that hasn't even been ratified will pay for it (which is not only not true, but not even possible). We hear it's going to be a wall. Then it's going to be a beautiful "see-through" wall. I seem to remember last year they were claiming some repairs on some fence qualified as a start on the wall. Now apparently as of Saturday December 22nd, 2018, we have shifted to a steel slat barrier. How can anyone even keep up with this nonsense?? If Trump's border wall promise should teach any politician anything, it's to never make such an absurdly INSANE promise the focus of your campaign. He can't possibly deliver on it, not just because Congress won't fund it, but because it may not even be possible to build the damn thing based on geography. Thus, we are stuck in a perpetual argument over something that is as close to make-believe as any major political issue I have ever seen. We might as well be arguing about whether we should give Sauron money to rebuild the Black Gate to protect Mordor. This is just so unbelievably DUMB on top of everything else. A serious country would not be having this discussion.
Politics is more and more built on perception, and emotion, not reality (on both sides I'm afraid). I'd be more than happy to come up with some compromise with the liberals in this forum that would leave all of us feeling a bit empty but that would likely be an improvement over what we have now. We don't need to get people's votes though, so the point would be rather moot. It seems we have to jump on this damned teeter-totter every 4 or 8 years where whichever party gets 51% of the vote (give or take a couple percent) gets to Lord it over the other like they don't exist. As bad as Trump is I bet he's still able to get around 45% of the vote by the time the election cycle is over, if hes around that long. That's about 70-80 million more votes than I'd get...
I would guess the delusion on the left would be that Bernie Sanders is going to walk into the White House and somehow pass Medicare for All and free college within his first two years. Neither of which has any chance of happening with the way the Senate is currently tilted toward conservative States. If Obama had made such a promise and stuck to it, rather than going for the incremental steps of the ACA, he would have walked away with nothing. What (especially in retrospect) I appreciate more about Hillary is that she had actual plans to implement modest change, rather than no plan to implement massive change.
I was thinking more on the lines that Ocasio-Cortez (or Bernie) is going to pass free university, free healthcare, free houses, a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage by taxing Bill Gates and the evil Amazon/Wal-Mart/oil companies/pharmaceutical companies and car companies (while somehow keeping people employed - I guess by employing them to count all of the wealth that will flow into the government coffers).
Oh, and don't forget saving the entire Earth by implementing a 'carbon tax' on the US. All they need is the stigmata to prove how righteous they are.
Saving the earth isn't righteous. It just needs to be done.
Free University and free healthcare, which of course are not free but funded from your taxes, are a thing in many countries. Why can't it work here in the richest country in the world?
Why do tax cuts have to be the only goal? 'Screw you I gots mine' doesn't make for a healthy society. How about we get stuff that improves people's lives for our taxes? And we shift the burden of taxes back to the wealthy from the middle class. With the GOP tax cuts the middle class effectively pay more taxes than the rich who can employ tax avoidance schemes as well.
Currently the rich own the politicians due to Citizens United ruling. Especially the Republican party they are completely responsive to the rich and corporations they ignore regular people. Republicans don't even bother with town halls because they listen to their donors.
In my eyes the Democratic Party is no better. They just preach more. Name one great thing that they preach about that they actually fight for. They get their gold from the rich as well. They just hide it better. They throw the commoners a bone once in a while to get votes then blame the evil Republicans for everything they don't get. They're the main reason our tax laws take 'expert' lawyers to figure out. The same 'expert' lawyers that make sure the rich have all the loopholes because the rich are the ones that pay them. The far-right AND the far-left will never get anything but lies from the powers that be. I'd like to see both sides get some of the bones but they'd rather blame each other for getting nothing. Meanwhile, our politicians are laughing all the way to the bank. Trump is just the most obvious...
When the Dems have all the power, what changes? When the Repubs have the power, what changes? They argue and fight about puissant nothings
I'd like to see one plan from either party where the real cost is plainly stated so everybody could understand and make an enlightened choice. Oh no, it's "You get to keep your doctor", or "the rich will pay for it" and on the other side, "we don't need a government unless it's to enforce our morals", or "a wall will solve all our problems".
When Republicans are in Power, they don't care about deficit. When Democrats are in power, the Republicans are all suddenly worried about the deficit. When the Democrats are in power, they try to help the people on the bottom. They also do this when Republicans are in power. Republicans only cqre about abortions when the Democrats are in power. Otherwise, they really don't care- because they need something to get their base riled up about. and if they actually did something about it, they would lose that hold on their base.
Yeah. Democrats certainly don't do everything right but they will do the right thing generally. They generally aren't interested in screwing people over. They will respond to the people if you press them.
Republicans only respond to corporations and millionaires and billionaires. They appeal to the worst in people: racism, homophobia, religious bigotry. They seem to actively try to hurt people to benefit business interests.
The both sides are the same argument is just not true.
I don't think the GOP and Democratic party are equally wrong or equally right--I think one is definitely better than the other in most ways. But I've never seen the point in evaluating them as whole groups, because there are a LOT of people in each party, and I don't think it's realistic or practical to try to weigh one against the other, as if their goodness or badness could be quantified.
I've never been fond of the "your side is worse than my side" debates, where people throw out random examples of the other side being bad to prove a point. It's basically like describing your own cherrypicking out loud, with a megaphone. It's better to focus on individual actors and individual actions.
Trump basically told a 7-year old girl that Santa isn't real on a sort of ceremonial Christmas call tonight. This isn't a joke. It would seem utterly impossible to screw this up. Sit in front of a camera and pretend that you care this girl is having a fun holiday. What is the ONE thing you would probably attempt to not do in this scenario?? How much of a complete failure in every aspect of your job do you have to be to get on a Christmas phone call and let the cat out of the bag on Santa Claus?? This is the kind of shit you expect from you drunk uncle that no one can stand. How is this even possible?? Does this guy have a single normal human emotion or response to anything?? From my understanding, the premise of the calls and photo-op was to have kids call the President to find out where Santa was on his flight tonight (because sending letters to the North Pole and tracking him on Christmas Eve is part of the fun and magic of being a kid). Here is the response to one of those children by Donald Trump:
"Are you still a believer in Santa? Because at seven it's marginal, right?"
Aside from the whole Santa thing, who the hell uses the word "marginal" in a sentence with a 7-year old?? Again, this isn't a spoof or an Onion article. This actually took place tonight. The video is readily available for all to stare in dumbfounded bewilderment at.
So... I saw this on Facebook this morning and it's very similar to something that happened to an old friend of mine.
A friend of mine wrked in a state-run prison. She was pregnant, but not showing yet. One of the inmates, during a fight and in a rage, picked up a folding chair and struck her hard across the lower back with it. It caused so much damage that she had to have a abortion, and messed her up to the point where she was never able to have children. As she went into Planned Parenthood, crying, to have an abortion she certainly didn't want, but needed for her health. Numerous people called her a whore, a slut and a babykiller.
To whch I say, unabashedly, fuck them all. You know nothing about the life of the women coming in to have an abortion. Shut the hell up, go home and leave them alone. You know nothing. NOTHING. Nothing about the choices some people are being forced to make, and you are NOT HELPING.
How the 14,000 Migrant Children in Federal Custody Will Spend Christmas
http://time.com/5485344/migrant-children-christmas/?fbclid=IwAR1tZLgo4-4sAOZm2viFZrQ_h4EVKqJdTrymG2mZ8DQ8OiRY1o5zatZ4-WA More than 14,000 migrant toddlers, children and teens will spend the Christmas in U.S. government detention and processing centers across the country. About 5,400 detained migrant children in the U.S. are sleeping in shelters that house more than 1,000 other children, while 9,800 detained migrant children are in facilities with more than 100 other children, according to federal data published by the Associated Press earlier this month.
US Embassy in Jerusalem will cost at least $20M more than Trump's $250,000 bargain estimate
https://archinect.com/news/article/150074142/us-embassy-in-jerusalem-will-cost-at-least-20m-more-than-trump-s-250-000-bargain-estimate?fbclid=IwAR0tDi8XZ75TQTi7Ogh6xLn0GKCGgIW0_xPXx3Ved7yJnQeS2Ig5E9rR3Qs What a surprise. President Donald Trump boasted earlier this year that the US would spend only $200,000 to $300,000 on a new US Embassy in Jerusalem, but it seems the project will cost nearly $20 million more than that estimate. [...] The US spent just under $400,000 on modifications to the consular facility that allowed it to open as the US Embassy in May, but the State Department told CNN at the time that it planned "for construction of a new extension [...] as well as for additional security enhancements" — CNN Back in March, the 'Builder in Chief' promised that the highly controversial new United States Embassy in Jerusalem would have to be built "very quickly and very inexpensively" at a bargain price tag of around $250,000. According to documents made public this month, the State Department however recently awarded a $21.2 million contract to the firm Desbuild Limak D&K to design and build an extension and compound security upgrades to the former consular building in Jerusalem's Arnona neighborhood—nearly 100 times the original estimate.
Body of migrant girl who died in U.S. Border Patrol custody arrives home in Guatemala
Top general on details of Trump's withdrawal plans: "I have no idea"
https://www.axios.com/trump-syria-afghanistan-withdrawal-military-generals-confusion-f95d5100-fb62-4f4f-a590-3c7e1cbadb6b.html President Trump's sudden orders to withdraw troops from Syria and Afghanistan — and Defense Secretary James Mattis' subsequent resignation — have left even the most high-ranking U.S. military officials questioning what they should be telling their troops on the ground, the Wall Street Journal reports. “I don’t think anybody really knows exactly what’s going to happen. I’ve read the same stuff in the newspaper you did, I have a little more knowledge than that, but not a whole lot more.” — Gen. Robert Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps. The big picture: Military commanders have reportedly received "no timelines, hard numbers or orders" from the Pentagon — “Nothing formal, just tweets,” said Navy Secretary Richard Spencer. One official told the Journal that the resignation of Mattis was "more devastating" than the withdrawal, while another said that the defense secretary's exit in late February would allow for "adequate continuity." This was, of course, before Trump revealed Sunday that Mattis would be forced out by Jan. 1.
AP FACT CHECK: Trump confuses with claims of new border wall
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/factcheck/ap-fact-check-trump-confuses-with-claims-of-new-border-wall/ar-BBRqJqh?fbclid=IwAR3NhVDz8cTBqJy9_FheEYpBzw6nFiwABl0ImQsFfnG8OfzySvGkAjCpVpw President Donald Trump's claims over Christmas that he had awarded 115 miles of new border wall construction in Texas appear to confuse work that's already funded and underway. Trump tweeted on Monday, "I am in the Oval Office & just gave out a 115 mile long contract for another large section of the Wall in Texas." He reiterated on Tuesday that he's moving forward on construction, even as the government remains partially shutdown over his insistence that Congress approve more money for a border wall. Neither the White House nor the Department of Homeland Security responded to follow-up questions on Monday or Tuesday, but here's what's known about contracts and construction of the wall. TRUMP, asked Tuesday morning about the wall and his Christmas Eve tweet: "Yesterday, I gave out 115 miles' worth of wall, 115 miles in Texas. It's going to be built, hopefully rapidly. I'm going there at the end of January for the start of construction." THE FACTS: Trump can't award construction contracts. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awards contracts for border wall construction after Congress approves funding and months have gone into planning.President Donald Trump's claims over Christmas that he had awarded 115 miles of new border wall construction in Texas appear to confuse work that's already funded and underway. Trump tweeted on Monday, "I am in the Oval Office & just gave out a 115 mile long contract for another large section of the Wall in Texas." He reiterated on Tuesday that he's moving forward on construction, even as the government remains partially shutdown over his insistence that Congress approve more money for a border wall. Neither the White House nor the Department of Homeland Security responded to follow-up questions on Monday or Tuesday, but here's what's known about contracts and construction of the wall. TRUMP, asked Tuesday morning about the wall and his Christmas Eve tweet: "Yesterday, I gave out 115 miles' worth of wall, 115 miles in Texas. It's going to be built, hopefully rapidly. I'm going there at the end of January for the start of construction." THE FACTS: Trump can't award construction contracts. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awards contracts for border wall construction after Congress approves funding and months have gone into planning.
Portland DoubleTree trespasses black guest in lobby
Jermaine Massey was in Portland to see Travis Scott at the Moda Center on December 22, The Oregonian/OregonLive reports, when he got a late night call from his mother on the East Coast. He sat in the lobby of the DoubleTree to take the call. While he was on the phone, a security guard came up to him, told him to leave and called the police.
As awful as the headline sounds, this really isn't news--this is just a partisan jab at Trump supporters, suggesting that they're "terrible people" based on a sample size of one. I've complained about this trend in the past: using narrow examples to paint the "other side" as the bad guy.
As awful as the headline sounds, this really isn't news--this is just a partisan jab at Trump supporters, suggesting that they're "terrible people" based on a sample size of one. I've complained about this trend in the past: using narrow examples to paint the "other side" as the bad guy.
Fair enough but at what point does a sample size of one repeated over ten thousand examples become a valid sample size?
In the social sciences, an example of a strong sample size would be 10% of the whole. Not all studies involve sample sizes that strong, but 10% is more than sufficient as a sample size. That's not a minimum, of course--just a good example.
In the social sciences, an example of a strong sample size would be 10% of the whole. Not all studies involve sample sizes that strong, but 10% is more than sufficient as a sample size. That's not a minimum, of course--just a good example.
That depends on the size of the population. With a relatively small population a 10% sample (or more than that) might be needed to get decent results. However, once population gets larger it has little impact on the sample size needed for good results. A 10% sample would be appropriate for a population of, say, a few thousand. However, if we're talking about figures in the millions, as we would be with political groupings, then a sample size would still only need to be in the hundreds to be meaningful.
Of course this assumes that the sample size is randomly chosen and properly stratified - and picking out examples displaying particular behavior (as in the instance being commented on) clearly does not meet this requirement.
I was struck by this follow-up story on the girl Trump asked if she believed in Santa. In considering how to talk to the President she said "It wasn't really (nerve-wracking), I just had to think of what the truth was." It would be nice if everyone took this approach ...
So... I saw this on Facebook this morning and it's very similar to something that happened to an old friend of mine.
A friend of mine wrked in a state-run prison. She was pregnant, but not showing yet. One of the inmates, during a fight and in a rage, picked up a folding chair and struck her hard across the lower back with it. It caused so much damage that she had to have a abortion, and messed her up to the point where she was never able to have children. As she went into Planned Parenthood, crying, to have an abortion she certainly didn't want, but needed for her health. Numerous people called her a whore, a slut and a babykiller.
To whch I say, unabashedly, fuck them all. You know nothing about the life of the women coming in to have an abortion. Shut the hell up, go home and leave them alone. You know nothing. NOTHING. Nothing about the choices some people are being forced to make, and you are NOT HELPING.
I'd like to comment on this in a around-about fashion. We have heard alot in the past year about public officials being harassed in public over policy decisions. But what never, ever gets mentioned by the people upset about such incidents of shaming is that women who walk into abortion clinics on certain days of the week have been experiencing legitimate harassment simply trying to WALK IN to a clinic that provides abortions (whether they are getting one or not, depending on what other services the clinic provides) for not years, but decades. They are verbally assaulted and in most cases physically intimidated by the sheer numbers of people protesting right outside the door of the clinic.
There is ONE abortion clinic in North Dakota, and my bus drives right by it everyday. Every Wednesday, these people are outside the clinic simply waiting for women to walk in so they can berate and shame them, to the point that there have to be volunteers that are willing to walk with the women into the clinic to provide some sort of protection in numbers. Moreover, many of these anti-abortion zealots have gone WAY farther than this. Abortion clinic bombings in this country are not isolated incidents. Doctors have been straight up assassinated for providing them. These facts are almost NEVER a part of the discussion about this issue.
A potential Trump impeachment is a 'huge risk' for 2019, expert says
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/26/trump-may-face-impeachment-by-house-democrats-expert-says.html?fbclid=IwAR2R6gBVkGyR_0KoMXL0OpsthicJeQ3wVUZdsULm73bQipUsMuXCzKDGtQM Investors and businesses are bracing for 2019 risks such as interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve and an escalation in U.S.-China trade tensions. But the impeachment of Trump has rarely been discussed as a market factor, partly because it still isn't clear whether Democrats would opt to go down that route when they take control of the House in 2019. Whether or not the impeachment process gets underway, it's likely to feature highly in U.S. political discussions and cripple Washington's ability to get things done, said Steve Okun, senior advisor at McLarty Associates.
Firefighter Natalie Dempsey, Mizpah (NJ) VFC, killed responding in POV
If oversight is Presidential harassment what is it called when you don't do your job and don't provide oversight? And what are the crimes uncovered by government oversight called?
Trump finally visited troops in a war zone after NBC(?) shamed in on the 24th.
Can’t wait for him to call them liars on twitter even though this trip was planned after the story ran. Remember, he was suppose to be in Florida for the holidays before the government shutdown scuttled those plans.
Trump finally visited troops in a war zone after NBC(?) shamed in on the 24th.
Can’t wait for him to call them liars on twitter even though this trip was planned after the story ran. Remember, he was suppose to be in Florida for the holidays before the government shutdown scuttled those plans.
Coming right on the heels of the daughter of the Dr. who signed off on his "bone spurs" to get out of Vietnam saying her father basically just made up the ailment as a favor to Fred Trump.
"It ain't me, it ain't me. I ain't no millionaire's son"
ICE BLOCKS IMMIGRANTS FROM LAWYERS WITH DRACONIAN PHONE RULES IN CALIFORNIA, ACLU SAYS
https://www.newsweek.com/ice-blocks-immigrants-lawyers-phone-rules-aclu-california-1269809?fbclid=IwAR2bgfp8M2oQBqR2IXJ3SB5h-gxhUOLLmqG0teoEsjEg-xFBAAtj_QMmZRc n immigration detention center in California has effectively worked to keep immigrants from contacting lawyers through phone rules, a lawsuit alleged last week. Advocate groups have said calls for those detained in the Adelanto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center calls are prohibitively expensive. And if a detainee is able to scrounge together money for call, then they calls are recorded and it is required that someone answer the phone nearly immediately—voicemails are not an option. "Legal representation is fundamental to ensuring due process for immigrants facing removal, but when our detained clients can't effectively communicate with us, our abilities to be effective advocates are compromised," said Meeth Soni, co-legal director at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, in a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California. The lawsuit detailed allegations of how difficult it can be for a detained immigrant to reach a lawyer. The suit alleges that an asylum-seeker named Desmond Tenghe has not been allowed to access funds he brought with and previous earnings from a different detention center were not transferred to Adelanto. Making just $1 per day working at Adelanto and denied free calls, the suit alleges, Tenghe has to spend a week's earnings to make a call and has to hope he reaches a person immediately. It took him two months to get ahold of his sponsor in Maryland, the suit alleges. Reads the lawsuit: "Over the course of weeks, Plaintiff Tenghe tried to call at least seven different legal organizations, including Catholic Charities, El Rescate, and others. Due to Defendants’ “positive acceptance” requirement for telephone calls, the telephone calls have either disconnected after ringing once or twice or continued to ring without answer. Plaintiff Tenghe has also attempted to call Catholic Charities to obtain documents about current country conditions in his country of origin, but those telephone calls also have not connected because of Defendants’ “positive acceptance” requirement."
Migrant Baby Contracted Pneumonia After Five Days in a ‘Freezing’ Holding Cell
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/migrant-baby-got-pneumonia-after-days-in-freezing-cell.html?fbclid=IwAR2uYH4sE0ZZBRjDnFdKoyTL0F4vigT5yij4DBWR_IFe6paN0OnYUCKJYJA This reminds me of what Joe Arpaio did with illegal immigrants in his prisons. When A. Portillo, a 23-year-old woman from Honduras, was taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in California earlier this month, her five-month-old was sick. The woman, who spoke to BuzzFeed News and asked to be identified by only her first initial and last name, was giving her baby an antibiotic but said she wasn’t allowed to keep the medication after she was detained. Her baby got sicker as they were held in “freezing” cells — migrants refer to these as hieleras, or iceboxes — and when she pleaded with CBP agents for a doctor, she says they refused. “The agents told me I wasn’t in a position to be asking for anything and that they didn’t tell me to come to the United States,” she said. They also called her an “invader,” she told NBC News.
Trump administration defies court order by pushing abstinence, Democrats say
Farmers are going bankrupt thanks to Trump’s trade war
https://shareblue.com/trump-trade-war-bankrupting-farms/?fbclid=IwAR3_VxDJ5pb0EegrWWgj22YNbJDqxtM9gklrT6WWT4BngS-BLaXulsZIpNs And it's only going to get worse. Trump’s trade war continues to wreak havoc on farms in the Midwest, with a sharp increase in farmers filing for bankruptcy over the past year. And “the worst is likely yet to come,” the Star Tribune reports, based on an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis finding that the bankruptcy trend “has not yet seen a peak.” Over the past year, 84 farms have filed for Chapter 12 bankruptcies in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. That’s twice as many as filed for bankruptcy in 2013 and 2014, according to the Star Tribune.
President Donald Trump's 10 biggest falsehoods of 2018
Poll shows Trump appears to be losing core voters with nonstop tweets, rhetoric, antics
https://www.businessinsider.com/poll-shows-trump-appears-to-be-losing-somewhat-supporters-with-antics-2018-12?fbclid=IwAR3-tQOY1qisuzLpHqnVQwi0jvgkZfHSHxDesDfDzB68xln5AyqeTp-TOHQ 18% of voters described themselves as only "somewhat" approving of the president in a recent poll, and that could be key to President Donald Trump's 2020 run. An analysis of VoteCast, a nationwide poll of more than 115,000 midterm voters, conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago, highlighted fractures in Trump's core base. About half of Trump's "somewhat" supporters said Trump has the right temperament to serve effectively as president or considered him honest and trustworthy. BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Jill Mott doesn't like the tweets. The hard line on the border is too hard. And when asked whether she will vote for President Donald Trump a second time, she lets out a long, deep sigh. "That is the question," said Mott, a Republican from suburban Detroit. In her moment of hesitancy, Mott is the portrait of a small, but significant slice of voters poised to wield considerable influence in the 2020 presidential campaign. They are the 18% of voters who described themselves as only "somewhat" approving of the president.
And in our next edition of "people behaving badly"...
Punish Cop Accused of Sexually Assaulting Animals on Film
ICE BLOCKS IMMIGRANTS FROM LAWYERS WITH DRACONIAN PHONE RULES IN CALIFORNIA, ACLU SAYS
https://www.newsweek.com/ice-blocks-immigrants-lawyers-phone-rules-aclu-california-1269809?fbclid=IwAR2bgfp8M2oQBqR2IXJ3SB5h-gxhUOLLmqG0teoEsjEg-xFBAAtj_QMmZRc n immigration detention center in California has effectively worked to keep immigrants from contacting lawyers through phone rules, a lawsuit alleged last week. Advocate groups have said calls for those detained in the Adelanto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center calls are prohibitively expensive. And if a detainee is able to scrounge together money for call, then they calls are recorded and it is required that someone answer the phone nearly immediately—voicemails are not an option. "Legal representation is fundamental to ensuring due process for immigrants facing removal, but when our detained clients can't effectively communicate with us, our abilities to be effective advocates are compromised," said Meeth Soni, co-legal director at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, in a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California. The lawsuit detailed allegations of how difficult it can be for a detained immigrant to reach a lawyer. The suit alleges that an asylum-seeker named Desmond Tenghe has not been allowed to access funds he brought with and previous earnings from a different detention center were not transferred to Adelanto. Making just $1 per day working at Adelanto and denied free calls, the suit alleges, Tenghe has to spend a week's earnings to make a call and has to hope he reaches a person immediately. It took him two months to get ahold of his sponsor in Maryland, the suit alleges. Reads the lawsuit: "Over the course of weeks, Plaintiff Tenghe tried to call at least seven different legal organizations, including Catholic Charities, El Rescate, and others. Due to Defendants’ “positive acceptance” requirement for telephone calls, the telephone calls have either disconnected after ringing once or twice or continued to ring without answer. Plaintiff Tenghe has also attempted to call Catholic Charities to obtain documents about current country conditions in his country of origin, but those telephone calls also have not connected because of Defendants’ “positive acceptance” requirement."
Migrant Baby Contracted Pneumonia After Five Days in a ‘Freezing’ Holding Cell
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/migrant-baby-got-pneumonia-after-days-in-freezing-cell.html?fbclid=IwAR2uYH4sE0ZZBRjDnFdKoyTL0F4vigT5yij4DBWR_IFe6paN0OnYUCKJYJA This reminds me of what Joe Arpaio did with illegal immigrants in his prisons. When A. Portillo, a 23-year-old woman from Honduras, was taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in California earlier this month, her five-month-old was sick. The woman, who spoke to BuzzFeed News and asked to be identified by only her first initial and last name, was giving her baby an antibiotic but said she wasn’t allowed to keep the medication after she was detained. Her baby got sicker as they were held in “freezing” cells — migrants refer to these as hieleras, or iceboxes — and when she pleaded with CBP agents for a doctor, she says they refused. “The agents told me I wasn’t in a position to be asking for anything and that they didn’t tell me to come to the United States,” she said. They also called her an “invader,” she told NBC News.
At this point, these policies are designed out of sheer malice--there's simply no legal or practical value to these policies. We've already seen the Trump administration imprisoning legal asylum seekers without due process of law, deliberately waiving background checks and allowing migrant children to be raped (the tolerance for child molestation of all things still baffles me), and now we have detainees being restricted from legal representation and sick babies being kept in freezing cells.
Comments
$16.2 million dollars.
In comparison, national tragedies such as Canada's Humboldt Broncos bus crash victims raised $11.2 million and the Parkland shooting raised $10.1 million (the former two leaders).
Both of those were backed by legitimate charities that made sure/are making sure that the victims are actually getting the donations that they need.
The wall is being backed by a conspiracy theorist who is just saying "take my word." GoFundMe doesn't work like Kickstarter where one needs to reach their goal to get people's donations. Reaching the goal is not required and the money can be withdrawn at anytime.
This campaign just proves how easily people are conned and why police departments still have to issue warnings about receiving emails for Nigerian Princes looking for a bank account to stash money in. This is going to end up with the money vanishing, GoFundMe being blamed and sued for the campaign.
Recent history DOES indicate better economies under Democrats. You have to go back to Carter to find an exception to this rule. Trump has already played his tax cut hand. It did nothing. Now the market is coming back to Earth. I don't see any way he can survive a recession if it goes that far. If Trump can't point to a stable economy, all he has left is ramping up the immigration fear card as high as possible. Which he is basically already doing.
THE YEAR TECH WORKERS REALIZED THEY WERE WORKERS
https://www.wired.com/story/why-hotel-workers-strike-reverberated-through-tech/?fbclid=IwAR0dNfZhuj56nc-3nRL3QSCgNs1Qxz5LiakghKGiND5YNjeXHzqO399vsrI2018 WAS THE year that Big Tech’s mission statements came back to haunt it. When employees felt that their products were damaging the world and that management wouldn't listen, they went public with their protests. At Google and Amazon, they challenged contracts to sell artificial intelligence and facial-recognition technology to the Pentagon and police. At Microsoft and Salesforce, workers argued against selling cloud computing services to agencies separating families at the border.
Technology’s unintended consequences were also central to the most disruptive labor action in the Bay Area this year, a strike by nearly 8,000 Marriott employees, including many in downtown San Francisco, just a dockless scooter ride from the headquarters of many major tech firms. Unite Here, the union representing strikers in eight cities, including San Jose and Oakland, demanded limits on automation like facial recognition at the front desk or the use of Alexa in lieu of a concierge. Marriott agreed to notify workers 150 days before implementing new technology and to give workers committee representation while the technology is still in development, among other protections.
ENTERTAINMENT Cat Kicks Baby Jesus Out of the Manger and Takes a Nap
https://catingtonpost.com/cat-kicks-baby-jesus-out-of-the-manger/?fbclid=IwAR2UpV16LICCuj5nTQhSIxydOthpIRB7itTR2XPXTnO02Mdj8MNw0Xd4FXIJesus, meet Cat. Cat wins.
Continued US Occupation of the Middle East Does Not Suppress Terrorism, It Causes It
https://www.mintpressnews.com/us-occupation-of-the-middle-east-does-not-stop-terrorism-it-causes-it/253253/?fbclid=IwAR0WdGliNvpJi__POWOTA5aDgWTAA4fnt5UXj3YHJNc0T-bBE35OJIWH9fcThe secret to ending the strength of ISIS in Syria is not the continued presence of American troops. It is for America’s ever closer allies in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf to cut off the major artery of money and arms, which we should never forget in origin and for a long time had a strong US component.
National Christmas Tree Dark Due To Government Shutdown
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/national-christmas-tree-dark-shutdown_us_5c20c286e4b0407e907d3b90?fbclid=IwAR2P6ckyvPGwAVhX97-i-kt7UR_zTtRnxbshL39WkUgxvfNej0WrR6JzRAAMaher Thanks Trump For Exposing Evangelicals As ‘Shameless Hypocrites’
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2016/11/maher-thanks-trump-for-exposing-evangelicals-as-shameless-hypocrites/?fbclid=IwAR3PBxtGEPLHGKDc8wnjpJ4iQu5cc8wqys0WG7gacK459vyUKHbc1d5KYyEBill Maher finds something nice to say about Donald Trump.
HBO’s Real Time host Bill Maher thanks Donald Trump for exposing the shameless hypocrisy of evangelical Christians.
Beginning his New Rules segment, Maher declared:
Before leaving this election behind, we must all thank Donald Trump for the one good thing he did: he exposed Evangelicals – who are big Trump supporters – as the shameless hypocrites they’ve always been.
Maher noted that this year’s presidential election is the first in recent years where the GOP didn’t use faith as a selling point, noting:
It’s hard to bring up the Ten Commandments when your candidate has spent most his life breaking all of them.
A 5-Month-Old Girl Has Been Hospitalized With Pneumonia After Being Detained By The Border Patrol
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/adolfoflores/infant-sick-border-patrol-cold?fbclid=IwAR1pgPxz1VE7lhWMRf37I2QPSTb1YmYwJKVNDwOO7ykc0awoPNKlyurhu94The girl's mother said her daughter got increasingly sick after being held in "freezing" cells.
Nobody should have to live like this.
Dow dives 600 points to below 22,000, S&P 500 enters bear market - worst Christmas Eve ever
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/24/us-stock-futures-fall-slightly-as-the-dow-attempts-to-rebound-from-its-worst-week-in-a-decade.html?fbclid=IwAR0Lfzt9_PUnq3yWJErU-sVFeBuAdEMZ2bvLgPiI0hQ1xVm6YHvOJV5BdaQTrump resumed his attack on the Fed on Monday, tweeting that the central bank is "the only problem" with the U.S. economy.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held calls on Sunday with the heads of the six largest U.S. banks in order to reassure nervous investors.
The NYSE closes early on Monday at 1 p.m. ET. The exchange is closed on Tuesday for Christmas day.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls for furlough of congressional salaries during government shutdown
http://www.fox32chicago.com/news/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-calls-for-furlough-of-congressional-salaries-during-government-shutdown?fbclid=IwAR1_SQMY3DVNopEIv-tlwrViX4R-_RCn6OHIP5qnqwzAg9xOUg5uo1Bj8hwThe President should be charged for the money the US will lose as well.
Speaking of Agent Orange, he's boo-hoo-hooing in the white house. Literally
Meet Stephen Miller, the 32-year-old White House adviser who convinced Trump to start separating migrant children from their parents at the border
https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-stephen-miller-trump-speechwriter-immigration-adviser-2018-1?fbclid=IwAR0Ci0wN6wnV0c20v92S-dISDdqHbW1oA8RRBx5MSX0txiNosUlTMecHSCQWhite House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller is on the front lines as President Donald Trump's administration butts heads with Democratic lawmakers over Trump's wishes for a $5-billion border wall.
Miller was previously identified as the driving force behind the Trump administration's controversial immigration policies.
At 32 years old, he has been a rising star on the far right for years, making headlines because of his polarizing demeanor and statements long before his time in the administration.
And speaking of "Witch hunts"...
THE US WITCH POPULATION HAS SEEN AN ASTRONOMICAL RISE
https://qz.com/quartzy/1411909/the-explosive-growth-of-witches-wiccans-and-pagans-in-the-us/?fbclid=IwAR0J_xCPqH0wvP2pcAJ-gVlNQ78-3QSlBeOsPxzk1PHGB3rHMrglwXt76f8Spirituality is now firmly placed in mainstream culture. The growing interest in astrology driven by millennials, as well as the popularity of crystals and tarot cards via the ballooning wellness industry, have brought mysticism from the fringes, and right into your Instagram feed.
However, as the cosmetics giant Sephora recently found out, mysticism and its more formal manifestation, witch culture, are not topics to be taken lightly. When the company tried to commodify and condense witch-related practices into a “Starter Witch Kit,” they managed to piss off a bunch of actual witches, forcing the kit’s manufacturer to apologize and pull the product.
The kit was clearly aimed at dabblers in witchcraft, rather than those who actually practice it, which was perhaps part of the miscalculation. Data on the existing population of self-identified practicing witches suggests that a robust—and growing—witch community exists.
By the numbers: witches, Wiccans, and Pagans
Though the data is sparse, what we do know is that the practice of witchcraft has seen major growth in recent decades. As the witch aesthetic has risen, so has the number of people who identify as witches.
The best source of data on the number of witches in the US comes from assessments of the Wicca population. Not all people who practice witchcraft consider themselves Wicca, but the religion makes up a significant subset, as Alden Wicker noted for Quartz in 2016.
Republicans only respond to corporations and millionaires and billionaires. They appeal to the worst in people: racism, homophobia, religious bigotry. They seem to actively try to hurt people to benefit business interests.
The both sides are the same argument is just not true.
I've never been fond of the "your side is worse than my side" debates, where people throw out random examples of the other side being bad to prove a point. It's basically like describing your own cherrypicking out loud, with a megaphone. It's better to focus on individual actors and individual actions.
"Are you still a believer in Santa? Because at seven it's marginal, right?"
Aside from the whole Santa thing, who the hell uses the word "marginal" in a sentence with a 7-year old?? Again, this isn't a spoof or an Onion article. This actually took place tonight. The video is readily available for all to stare in dumbfounded bewilderment at.
Yes. He is a disgrace and the Republican party enabling him to shutdown the government is also a disgrace.
Merry Christmas
A friend of mine wrked in a state-run prison. She was pregnant, but not showing yet. One of the inmates, during a fight and in a rage, picked up a folding chair and struck her hard across the lower back with it. It caused so much damage that she had to have a abortion, and messed her up to the point where she was never able to have children. As she went into Planned Parenthood, crying, to have an abortion she certainly didn't want, but needed for her health. Numerous people called her a whore, a slut and a babykiller.
To whch I say, unabashedly, fuck them all. You know nothing about the life of the women coming in to have an abortion. Shut the hell up, go home and leave them alone. You know nothing. NOTHING. Nothing about the choices some people are being forced to make, and you are NOT HELPING.
Trump becomes first president since 2002 not to visit troops at Christmastime
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-becomes-first-president-2002-not-visit-troops-christmastime-n951846?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_maThough he called military personnel on Tuesday, Trump did not visit a hospital or a military base.
Typical. Bloody typical.
Did a Man Discover He Was Paying a Bridge’s Electric Bill?
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pay-bridge-electrical-bill/?fbclid=IwAR3Esl_NgdH1I6OOl0tHHQ22w93SaQ_-5sGdGeitfgs_UoPmS9IVML6-_z0True.
A Complete Analysis Of Trump’s 100th Unpresidented Week As POTUS
https://rantt.com/trumps-100th-unpresidented-week-mattis-quits-and-markets-tank/?fbclid=IwAR0YeS4aRyos6F06rpkyjCjbHzjcNaGxh4pgBS_1uAjHcF6h_-mLGF8ai4kHow the 14,000 Migrant Children in Federal Custody Will Spend Christmas
http://time.com/5485344/migrant-children-christmas/?fbclid=IwAR1tZLgo4-4sAOZm2viFZrQ_h4EVKqJdTrymG2mZ8DQ8OiRY1o5zatZ4-WAMore than 14,000 migrant toddlers, children and teens will spend the Christmas in U.S. government detention and processing centers across the country.
About 5,400 detained migrant children in the U.S. are sleeping in shelters that house more than 1,000 other children, while 9,800 detained migrant children are in facilities with more than 100 other children, according to federal data published by the Associated Press earlier this month.
US Embassy in Jerusalem will cost at least $20M more than Trump's $250,000 bargain estimate
https://archinect.com/news/article/150074142/us-embassy-in-jerusalem-will-cost-at-least-20m-more-than-trump-s-250-000-bargain-estimate?fbclid=IwAR0tDi8XZ75TQTi7Ogh6xLn0GKCGgIW0_xPXx3Ved7yJnQeS2Ig5E9rR3QsWhat a surprise.
President Donald Trump boasted earlier this year that the US would spend only $200,000 to $300,000 on a new US Embassy in Jerusalem, but it seems the project will cost nearly $20 million more than that estimate. [...]
The US spent just under $400,000 on modifications to the consular facility that allowed it to open as the US Embassy in May, but the State Department told CNN at the time that it planned "for construction of a new extension [...] as well as for additional security enhancements" — CNN
Back in March, the 'Builder in Chief' promised that the highly controversial new United States Embassy in Jerusalem would have to be built "very quickly and very inexpensively" at a bargain price tag of around $250,000. According to documents made public this month, the State Department however recently awarded a $21.2 million contract to the firm Desbuild Limak D&K to design and build an extension and compound security upgrades to the former consular building in Jerusalem's Arnona neighborhood—nearly 100 times the original estimate.
Body of migrant girl who died in U.S. Border Patrol custody arrives home in Guatemala
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latin-america/body-migrant-girl-who-died-u-s-border-patrol-custody-n951656?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_ma&fbclid=IwAR1Hc1qd9FB_x7yNp2Jk7lgr-SSNteRzi4bYJfPymEeI6FVI930WQ1SIBwQVillagers wept as the coffin arrived at the home of 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin's grandparents.
Top general on details of Trump's withdrawal plans: "I have no idea"
https://www.axios.com/trump-syria-afghanistan-withdrawal-military-generals-confusion-f95d5100-fb62-4f4f-a590-3c7e1cbadb6b.htmlPresident Trump's sudden orders to withdraw troops from Syria and Afghanistan — and Defense Secretary James Mattis' subsequent resignation — have left even the most high-ranking U.S. military officials questioning what they should be telling their troops on the ground, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“I don’t think anybody really knows exactly what’s going to happen. I’ve read the same stuff in the newspaper you did, I have a little more knowledge than that, but not a whole lot more.”
— Gen. Robert Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps.
The big picture: Military commanders have reportedly received "no timelines, hard numbers or orders" from the Pentagon — “Nothing formal, just tweets,” said Navy Secretary Richard Spencer. One official told the Journal that the resignation of Mattis was "more devastating" than the withdrawal, while another said that the defense secretary's exit in late February would allow for "adequate continuity." This was, of course, before Trump revealed Sunday that Mattis would be forced out by Jan. 1.
Are Bert and Ernie Gay?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/18/arts/television/bert-ernie-gay-sesame-street.html?fbclid=IwAR2GgpHp5t4S8S4cTa4S-QzA19TWYuDC5XCaioyq3f-gnh1kkG1nqMghmNAICE QUIETLY DROPS 200 ASYLUM SEEKERS AT EL PASO BUS STATION WITH NO MONEY OR SHELTER RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
https://www.newsweek.com/ice-immigration-asylum-seekers-el-paso-1270976?amp=1&fbclid=IwAR3dsxNDQylqT6GZdQkne2_eKywht9FymlrTcaJug-E_qzXc0rC6-p2VxQUWelcome to America, now get the F*** home!
'Virgin Island Vicky:' Woman yells that she loves President Trump, 'hates' black people
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/virgin-island-vicky-woman-yells-loves-president-trump-hates-black-people-232444656.htmlGreat. Even his supporters are terrible people.
AP FACT CHECK: Trump confuses with claims of new border wall
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/factcheck/ap-fact-check-trump-confuses-with-claims-of-new-border-wall/ar-BBRqJqh?fbclid=IwAR3NhVDz8cTBqJy9_FheEYpBzw6nFiwABl0ImQsFfnG8OfzySvGkAjCpVpwPresident Donald Trump's claims over Christmas that he had awarded 115 miles of new border wall construction in Texas appear to confuse work that's already funded and underway.
Trump tweeted on Monday, "I am in the Oval Office & just gave out a 115 mile long contract for another large section of the Wall in Texas."
He reiterated on Tuesday that he's moving forward on construction, even as the government remains partially shutdown over his insistence that Congress approve more money for a border wall.
Neither the White House nor the Department of Homeland Security responded to follow-up questions on Monday or Tuesday, but here's what's known about contracts and construction of the wall.
TRUMP, asked Tuesday morning about the wall and his Christmas Eve tweet: "Yesterday, I gave out 115 miles' worth of wall, 115 miles in Texas. It's going to be built, hopefully rapidly. I'm going there at the end of January for the start of construction."
THE FACTS: Trump can't award construction contracts. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awards contracts for border wall construction after Congress approves funding and months have gone into planning.President Donald Trump's claims over Christmas that he had awarded 115 miles of new border wall construction in Texas appear to confuse work that's already funded and underway.
Trump tweeted on Monday, "I am in the Oval Office & just gave out a 115 mile long contract for another large section of the Wall in Texas."
He reiterated on Tuesday that he's moving forward on construction, even as the government remains partially shutdown over his insistence that Congress approve more money for a border wall.
Neither the White House nor the Department of Homeland Security responded to follow-up questions on Monday or Tuesday, but here's what's known about contracts and construction of the wall.
TRUMP, asked Tuesday morning about the wall and his Christmas Eve tweet: "Yesterday, I gave out 115 miles' worth of wall, 115 miles in Texas. It's going to be built, hopefully rapidly. I'm going there at the end of January for the start of construction."
THE FACTS: Trump can't award construction contracts. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awards contracts for border wall construction after Congress approves funding and months have gone into planning.
Portland DoubleTree trespasses black guest in lobby
https://www.koin.com/news/local/multnomah-county/portland-doubletree-trespasses-black-guest-in-lobby/1674585802?fbclid=IwAR1egHOz07hc8ldIbvczu3F1QzPXOniVf5efMClh5qmWiTbnraRsV-Tv4QoNow, making a phone call while black...
A man from Kent, Washington who was registered as a guest at the DoubleTree hotel in the Lloyd Center was asked to leave by hotel officials while he was sitting in the lobby making a phone call.
Jermaine Massey was in Portland to see Travis Scott at the Moda Center on December 22, The Oregonian/OregonLive reports, when he got a late night call from his mother on the East Coast.
He sat in the lobby of the DoubleTree to take the call. While he was on the phone, a security guard came up to him, told him to leave and called the police.
Of course this assumes that the sample size is randomly chosen and properly stratified - and picking out examples displaying particular behavior (as in the instance being commented on) clearly does not meet this requirement.
There is ONE abortion clinic in North Dakota, and my bus drives right by it everyday. Every Wednesday, these people are outside the clinic simply waiting for women to walk in so they can berate and shame them, to the point that there have to be volunteers that are willing to walk with the women into the clinic to provide some sort of protection in numbers. Moreover, many of these anti-abortion zealots have gone WAY farther than this. Abortion clinic bombings in this country are not isolated incidents. Doctors have been straight up assassinated for providing them. These facts are almost NEVER a part of the discussion about this issue.
Trump: Democratic oversight of my administration could amount to 'presidential harassment'
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/25/politics/trump-oversight-presidential-harassment/index.html?fbclid=IwAR3IDj5DvOhNeVy0Vm8JXltnkAYXRIi3nxDuIb3AQKLhXWNhRafFXhXm_3oU.S. border wall no match for Mexican girl's Santa wish list
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mexico-balloon/u-s-border-wall-no-match-for-mexican-girls-santa-wish-list-idUSKCN1OO03I?utm_source=applenews&fbclid=IwAR0-ptk89qXeYadPrabIepqklEUN8lKwU1_Ty_2gKH98TnsxHkdEr-0_1pgI sure hope so.
Trump Says Government Won’t Reopen Until Border Wall Is Funded
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/12/trump-says-government-wont-reopen-until-border-wall-is-funded.html?fbclid=IwAR0b7knNXOa91MAYGHdMkEOlK-ktPIDimUBibA3P_kLXaHL2XiCfXu7j-foTrump bizarrely claims ‘many’ federal workers want to go without paychecks until he gets his wall
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/12/trump-bizarrely-claims-many-federal-workers-want-go-without-paychecks-gets-wall/?fbclid=IwAR1EOceyIjOkogWj8-yqAB6qADQFSUsDEr8rmxT-MW8sHMTU-BISlGkj5IQA potential Trump impeachment is a 'huge risk' for 2019, expert says
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/26/trump-may-face-impeachment-by-house-democrats-expert-says.html?fbclid=IwAR2R6gBVkGyR_0KoMXL0OpsthicJeQ3wVUZdsULm73bQipUsMuXCzKDGtQMInvestors and businesses are bracing for 2019 risks such as interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve and an escalation in U.S.-China trade tensions.
But the impeachment of Trump has rarely been discussed as a market factor, partly because it still isn't clear whether Democrats would opt to go down that route when they take control of the House in 2019.
Whether or not the impeachment process gets underway, it's likely to feature highly in U.S. political discussions and cripple Washington's ability to get things done, said Steve Okun, senior advisor at McLarty Associates.
Firefighter Natalie Dempsey, Mizpah (NJ) VFC, killed responding in POV
https://www.statter911.com/2018/12/25/firefighter-natalie-dempsey-mizpah-nj-vfc-killed-responding-in-pov/?fbclid=IwAR2HAIsvm7Ivb5lHAjyXfP-8bh8N4uV5vfmGnTT5ZSQaUSrUiMJ2LuJNSOQFamily of the black wrestler who was forced to cut his dreadlocks speaks out
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/25/us/wrestler-dreadlocks-new-jersey-comments/index.html?fbclid=IwAR2QrXyrn6qszyf1MysfZ7QpvEv9ygjVElhfjvJ12wU9iuYZGLz5YCGYcPcCan’t wait for him to call them liars on twitter even though this trip was planned after the story ran. Remember, he was suppose to be in Florida for the holidays before the government shutdown scuttled those plans.
"It ain't me, it ain't me. I ain't no millionaire's son"
Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker pumped up his resume on government forms, report says
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-pol-matthew-whitaker-acting-attorney-general-all-american-honors-resume-20181226-story.html?fbclid=IwAR3pkQeVL-b-6NnyPlU8K_4dKJo9vxHetoFRdHpPmhm-3kOmSDfYJ2idTngI'm not surprised. For a man who shilled for toilets made for men with large... endowments, it's kind of a foregone conclusion.
ICE BLOCKS IMMIGRANTS FROM LAWYERS WITH DRACONIAN PHONE RULES IN CALIFORNIA, ACLU SAYS
https://www.newsweek.com/ice-blocks-immigrants-lawyers-phone-rules-aclu-california-1269809?fbclid=IwAR2bgfp8M2oQBqR2IXJ3SB5h-gxhUOLLmqG0teoEsjEg-xFBAAtj_QMmZRcn immigration detention center in California has effectively worked to keep immigrants from contacting lawyers through phone rules, a lawsuit alleged last week.
Advocate groups have said calls for those detained in the Adelanto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center calls are prohibitively expensive. And if a detainee is able to scrounge together money for call, then they calls are recorded and it is required that someone answer the phone nearly immediately—voicemails are not an option.
"Legal representation is fundamental to ensuring due process for immigrants facing removal, but when our detained clients can't effectively communicate with us, our abilities to be effective advocates are compromised," said Meeth Soni, co-legal director at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, in a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California.
The lawsuit detailed allegations of how difficult it can be for a detained immigrant to reach a lawyer. The suit alleges that an asylum-seeker named Desmond Tenghe has not been allowed to access funds he brought with and previous earnings from a different detention center were not transferred to Adelanto. Making just $1 per day working at Adelanto and denied free calls, the suit alleges, Tenghe has to spend a week's earnings to make a call and has to hope he reaches a person immediately. It took him two months to get ahold of his sponsor in Maryland, the suit alleges.
Reads the lawsuit:
"Over the course of weeks, Plaintiff Tenghe tried to call at least seven different legal organizations, including Catholic Charities, El Rescate, and others. Due to Defendants’ “positive acceptance” requirement for telephone calls, the telephone calls have either disconnected after ringing once or twice or continued to ring without answer. Plaintiff Tenghe has also attempted to call Catholic Charities to obtain documents about current country conditions in his country of origin, but those telephone calls also have not connected because of Defendants’ “positive acceptance” requirement."
Migrant Baby Contracted Pneumonia After Five Days in a ‘Freezing’ Holding Cell
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/migrant-baby-got-pneumonia-after-days-in-freezing-cell.html?fbclid=IwAR2uYH4sE0ZZBRjDnFdKoyTL0F4vigT5yij4DBWR_IFe6paN0OnYUCKJYJAThis reminds me of what Joe Arpaio did with illegal immigrants in his prisons.
When A. Portillo, a 23-year-old woman from Honduras, was taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in California earlier this month, her five-month-old was sick. The woman, who spoke to BuzzFeed News and asked to be identified by only her first initial and last name, was giving her baby an antibiotic but said she wasn’t allowed to keep the medication after she was detained.
Her baby got sicker as they were held in “freezing” cells — migrants refer to these as hieleras, or iceboxes — and when she pleaded with CBP agents for a doctor, she says they refused. “The agents told me I wasn’t in a position to be asking for anything and that they didn’t tell me to come to the United States,” she said. They also called her an “invader,” she told NBC News.
Trump administration defies court order by pushing abstinence, Democrats say
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-administration-defies-court-order-pushing-abstinence-democrats-say-n950146?fbclid=IwAR3ytT9EvgJXGC6jBFcBU9qiV63Lg6ka94VEHnQW43Rxm8QikQQRpsdtMccBecause abstinence doesn't work, thus, the spectre of teen pregnancy will still be with us, as opposed to strategies that actually work.
Instead of supporting teen pregnancy programs based on evidence, the administration is substituting ideology, according to congressional Democrats.
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump make surprise visit to Iraq
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/26/politics/donald-trump-iraq-visit/index.html?fbclid=IwAR2_JVkgkwXEd-N_4i8g_LGb8DBRLTanQVq3IzIGASxGc5J1Lscgy20w6XEProbably has something to do with what was mentioned above.
DONALD TRUMP WAS A ‘SERIAL FAILURE’ AND ‘DADDY’S LITTLE WELFARE CASE,’ MSNBC HOST SAYS
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-serial-failure-daddys-little-welfare-case-msnbc-1271072Farmers are going bankrupt thanks to Trump’s trade war
https://shareblue.com/trump-trade-war-bankrupting-farms/?fbclid=IwAR3_VxDJ5pb0EegrWWgj22YNbJDqxtM9gklrT6WWT4BngS-BLaXulsZIpNsAnd it's only going to get worse.
Trump’s trade war continues to wreak havoc on farms in the Midwest, with a sharp increase in farmers filing for bankruptcy over the past year.
And “the worst is likely yet to come,” the Star Tribune reports, based on an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis finding that the bankruptcy trend “has not yet seen a peak.”
Over the past year, 84 farms have filed for Chapter 12 bankruptcies in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. That’s twice as many as filed for bankruptcy in 2013 and 2014, according to the Star Tribune.
President Donald Trump's 10 biggest falsehoods of 2018
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/president-donald-trump-s-10-biggest-falsehoods-2018-n949121?fbclid=IwAR0nlAWElWor2Sumeu8wIyTs6PTaDTKgHu_Ph3pm-pdoxpGP5HR_BM0DKI0NBC News spent 2018 fact checking Trump's claims on tariffs, immigration, health insurance, taxes, aviation safety, foiled terrorists, jobs, and more.
Poll shows Trump appears to be losing core voters with nonstop tweets, rhetoric, antics
https://www.businessinsider.com/poll-shows-trump-appears-to-be-losing-somewhat-supporters-with-antics-2018-12?fbclid=IwAR3-tQOY1qisuzLpHqnVQwi0jvgkZfHSHxDesDfDzB68xln5AyqeTp-TOHQ18% of voters described themselves as only "somewhat" approving of the president in a recent poll, and that could be key to President Donald Trump's 2020 run.
An analysis of VoteCast, a nationwide poll of more than 115,000 midterm voters, conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago, highlighted fractures in Trump's core base.
About half of Trump's "somewhat" supporters said Trump has the right temperament to serve effectively as president or considered him honest and trustworthy.
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Jill Mott doesn't like the tweets. The hard line on the border is too hard. And when asked whether she will vote for President Donald Trump a second time, she lets out a long, deep sigh.
"That is the question," said Mott, a Republican from suburban Detroit.
In her moment of hesitancy, Mott is the portrait of a small, but significant slice of voters poised to wield considerable influence in the 2020 presidential campaign. They are the 18% of voters who described themselves as only "somewhat" approving of the president.
And in our next edition of "people behaving badly"...
Punish Cop Accused of Sexually Assaulting Animals on Film
https://forcechange.com/521617/punish-man-who-allegedly-filmed-himself-having-sex-with-animals/?fbclid=IwAR0oI3hy4NhtCQIkP1t078pwBdufKNPEEiKf3ns1uAFj125DdCPeevCvNLkBlack Marriott exec was compared to 'Buckwheat,' told to dance for colleagues, lawsuit alleges
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-marriott-exec-was-compared-buckwheat-told-dance-colleagues-lawsuit-n952046?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_maDaryl Robinson also claims that he worked out of a “cramped” storage closet that had no air conditioning, unlike his co-workers who had cubicles.
Seriously? WTF people?