There is a poster on another blog, who went back and forth with several of us about the question of immigration. This poster, dismayed, at seeing ICE breaking up families, thought that a solution would be to offer the folks here a permanent green card without the option of citizenship.
Those of us on the other side, said absolutely not..because, these people want to deport non-Whites, and don’t want any immigration from non-Whites.
This story from the NYTimes is posted with these two questions:
Do you honestly think these people can be reasoned with? That there is a compromise to be had with them?
……………………………..
Justices Alarmed by Government’s Hard-Line Stance in Citizenship Case
By ADAM LIPTAK
APRIL 26, 2017
WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. tried to test the limits of the government’s position at a Supreme Court argument on Wednesday by confessing to a criminal offense.
“Some time ago, outside the statute of limitations, I drove 60 miles an hour in a 55-mile-an-hour zone,” the chief justice said, adding that he had not been caught.
The form that people seeking American citizenship must complete, he added, asks whether the applicant had ever committed a criminal offense, however minor, even if there was no arrest.
“If I answer that question no, 20 years after I was naturalized as a citizen, you can knock on my door and say, ‘Guess what, you’re not an American citizen after all’?” Chief Justice Roberts asked.
Continue reading the main storyRobert A. Parker, a Justice Department lawyer, said the offense had to be disclosed. Chief Justice Roberts seemed shocked. “Oh, come on,” he said.
The chief justice asked again whether someone’s citizenship could turn on such an omission.
Mr. Parker did not back down. “If we can prove that you deliberately lied in answering that question, then yes,” he said.
The exchange was among several moments of indignation and incredulity during the argument in Maslenjak v. United States, No. 16-309. Several justices seemed taken aback by Mr. Parker’s unyielding position that the government may revoke the citizenship of Americans who made even trivial misstatements in their naturalization proceedings.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy had heard enough.
“Your argument is demeaning the priceless value of citizenship,” he told Mr. Parker. “You’re arguing for the government of the United States, talking about what citizenship is and ought to mean.”
This blog has been telling you about Attorney General White Citizens Council.
Remember…they were just going to go after the CRIMINALS…
But, that was bull.
Then, they weren’t going to go after the DREAMers…
Now, we know that was bull.
You had a head of Homeland Security, talking about how it might not be so bad to separate PARENTS AND CHILDREN.
The revoking of VISAs.
The African Economic Conference -WITH NO AFRICANS PARTICIPATING, because they couldn’t get visas.
The cozying up to Voter Suppressor Kris Kobach of Kansas.
Now, you have the Justice Department, arguing that they should be able to REVOKE UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP, based on trivialities?
REALLY?
SERIOUSLY?
We keep on telling you about these people.
https://twitter.com/MEPFuller/status/859528561664937985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdisqus.com%2Fembed%2Fcomments%2F%3Fbase%3Ddefault%26f%3Dpragmaticobots%26t_i%3D59147%2520http%253A%252F%252Fpragmaticobotsunite.com%252F%253Fp%253D59147%26t_u%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fpragmaticobotsunite.com%252Ftuesday-afternoon-thread-bruno-mars-week%252F%26t_e%3DTuesday%2520Afternoon%2520Thread%253A%2520Bruno%2520Mars%2520Week%26t_d%3DTuesday%2520Afternoon%2520Thread%253A%2520Bruno%2520Mars%2520Week%26t_t%3DTuesday%2520Afternoon%2520Thread%253A%2520Bruno%2520Mars%2520Week%26s_o%3Ddefault%26l%3D%23version%3Dd3a5970415e73b8455175a98b1861579
https://twitter.com/tobiasbuckell/status/859490684377735168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdisqus.com%2Fembed%2Fcomments%2F%3Fbase%3Ddefault%26f%3Dpragmaticobots%26t_i%3D59147%2520http%253A%252F%252Fpragmaticobotsunite.com%252F%253Fp%253D59147%26t_u%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fpragmaticobotsunite.com%252Ftuesday-afternoon-thread-bruno-mars-week%252F%26t_e%3DTuesday%2520Afternoon%2520Thread%253A%2520Bruno%2520Mars%2520Week%26t_d%3DTuesday%2520Afternoon%2520Thread%253A%2520Bruno%2520Mars%2520Week%26t_t%3DTuesday%2520Afternoon%2520Thread%253A%2520Bruno%2520Mars%2520Week%26s_o%3Ddefault%26l%3D%23version%3Dd3a5970415e73b8455175a98b1861579
https://twitter.com/TPM/status/859580883061399552
https://twitter.com/TPM/status/859529766684299264
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
MUST READ
100 Days of Trump’s Brand of White Supremacy
April 29, 2017 • Jessie Daniels
Today marks the one hundredth day of the Trump administration and his own peculiar brand of white supremacy. There are dozens of 100-day retrospectives around, including some beautifully written ones, but none that I’ve read so far try to connect the threads of white supremacy, white nationalism and Trumpism through these 100 days of outrage. This is my attempt. I’m not exactly sure why I did this in list-icle form, but this post is a kind of note-taking for a longer, narrative piece (a book maybe?) that I’m thinking through now. So. I hope this makes sense and is useful for someone else. And, if not, hey, I’ll use it at some point.
A big tip of the hat to the good work Matt Kiser is doing over at WTFJHT. (I used his chronology of events to pull this 100-item list together, but I confess I only got to Day 38.)
http://www.racismreview.com/blog/2017/04/29/100-days-trumps-brand-white-supremacy/
Wow. It is exhausting just to read this. God help us.
Mark Sanford not optimistic on OCare repeal, tells me that “full repeal was, in essence, a pipe dream from the very start.”
— Alexandra Jaffe (@ajjaffe) May 2, 2017
Sanford said “I don’t see a road to passage at this point” for the GOP healthcare bill.
— Alexandra Jaffe (@ajjaffe) May 2, 2017
New Opportunities for Dems Come With Opportunity Costs
by Martin Longman May 2, 2017 11:30 AM
One of the interesting things to look for as our country’s politics enter a new phase of more rapid realignment is cases where this messes with the assumptions that were made when our congressional districts were gerrymandered after the last Census. The Republicans did so well in the 2010 midterms that they had a huge national advantage when it came time to redraw districts, but Illinois was a rare exception where the Democrats were able to use gerrymandering to the max to carve out a few extra seats.
And then a funny thing happened:
This is the flip side or positive aspect of the change in voting patterns that cost Hillary Clinton the election. Even as she hemorrhaged votes in small towns and rural regions, Trump lost almost as many votes in the suburbs (and some suburbanizing exurbs). And it’s not just that these areas are getting younger and more ethnically diverse. Trumpism doesn’t sell well even with tax-averse white professional Romney Republicans, let alone with sophisticated college-educated women who may have been raised to see the Republican Party as a signifier of their status. There’s nothing high class about that Access Hollywood tape.
Of course, there’s a certain risk of perversion of purpose if the party of the underprivileged and dispossessed becomes reliant on the three-car garage set for their votes, and that’s a likely side effect of a realignment like this. Votes are always welcome, of course, but chasing after these voters could come with an opportunity cost if it prevents the Democrats from realizing that their power is eroding badly in this trade. And, of course, there’s the moral element to consider, which is that a left that’s worth its name doesn’t leave people behind.
For people that think they won’t be affected by the AHCA, you might want to dig a bit deeper.
I just watched the Hillary Clinton interview with Christiane Amanpour. It was actually really good except for the part where she talked about the election. Unfortunately, I think that what she said about the election will overshadow the good parts of the interview and will be all that MSM talks about.
LYING POS A rambling, small, cowardly POS
Be afraid, y’all. This really underscores the gravity of our situation.
https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/859374786031476736
I don’t think highly of this Police Chief. He was mighty quick to disseminate the cop lies. “I just now saw the video and changed my mind” is not a satisfactory explanation.
Well, we know what’s going on here.
Someone tell me again what the difference is between a trigger happy cop shooting at an occupied vehicle that is not involved in a crime and is driving away from him and that guy in San Diego who opened fire at a pool party. Seriously, aren’t we splitting hairs to try and see a difference? Oh, wait, I remember. One of the shooters took an oath to uphold the law, to protect and serve and so forth.
ARE.YOU.PHUCKING.KIDDING.ME?!?!?
House GOPer: Move To Another State If You Have A Pre-Existing Condition
By ALICE OLLSTEIN
Published MAY 2, 2017 12:17 PM
President Donald Trump and GOP leaders are asserting that their bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act will protect people with pre-existing conditions—despite fact that the current bill allows states to waive the protections, giving insurers a green light to jack up the rates of those with a chronic illness or disability.
Other rank-and-file lawmakers have been more blunt.
“People can go to the state that they want to live in,” Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC) told reporters Tuesday morning when asked if people with pre-existing conditions could be charged much more under the American Health Care Act.
“States have all kinds of different policies and there are disparities among states for many things: driving restrictions, alcohol, whatever,” he continued. “We’re putting choices back in the hands of the states. That’s what Jeffersonian democracy provides for.”
Yep, going back to that State’s rights BULLSHIT.
Alright. We’ve updated the AHCA whip list again based on some new information and added a new category of lean yes: https://t.co/y24iOcgafm pic.twitter.com/nGp703u4rt
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) May 2, 2017
Chicago Prep School Is Sending Its Entire Graduating Class To College For 8th Consecutive Year
https://blavity.com/urban-prep-college-bound-eighth-year-in-a-row?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Blavity%20Daily%20Newsletter%205217&utm_content=Blavity%20Daily%20Newsletter%205217+CID_a16cf1e389aee40932e3ac9d31e6c013&utm_source=Campaign%20Monitor&utm_term=entire%20senior%20class%20is%20heading%20to%20college
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D67VX5FuniU
This Teen Took Her Harvard Acceptance Letter To Prom Instead Of A Date
Because who even needs boys?
By Jenavieve Hatch
Priscilla Samey found herself without a date to her high school’s prom on Saturday night, so the Minnesota-based teen did what any reasonable woman would do ― she took her Harvard University acceptance letter as her date instead.
The teen, who was also accepted to six other Ivy League universities, tweeted a flawless photo in her flawless grown with Harvard’s letter on Saturday.
“Couldn’t find a man to accept me for prom so I took a college that did,” she wrote in the caption.
…………..
Samey’s post has since gone viral, with more than 122,000 favorites and 27,000 retweets. The reactions were, unsurprisingly, wonderfully supportive.
Good for her. KNOW THYSELF, FIRST.
His ignorance (as well as his narcissism and recklessness) is on full display. Anyone left out there who would give him a shred of credibility is a damn fool.
I don’t know the way forward but I do know that the distractions must stop.
These are dangerous times.
https://twitter.com/germanrlopez/status/859432767746179073
It is truly astonishing that there was a hung jury when Slager was tried. I fear that he is going to get a light sentence especially with AG Bull Connor II in charge. And everyone will be expected to heave a sigh of relief and feel that justice was served. I guess we’ll see but I’m not optimistic.
Slager should have been convicted the first time. But iirc there was some bullshit going on with that black juror. Didn’t he have charges against him dropped, then was able to get on the jury? Uh huh.
Spot on, Liza, a deal was reached to go as easy on sentencing as possible for this murderer. BANK IT!
GOP splinters over protecting those with pre-existing conditions
05/02/17 10:13 AM—UPDATED 05/02/17 10:44 AM
By Steve Benen
When Republicans appeared ready to pass a far-right health care plan in March, their plan was already dreadful and unpopular. GOP leaders then tried to revive the failed legislation by making it quite a bit worse, gutting protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions.
Because of the state of Republican politics in 2017, this persuaded a variety of far-right lawmakers to endorse the more regressive approach, but in an example of politics resembling Newtonian physics, the change pushed other GOP lawmakers further away.
Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), for example, conceded the other day that he’s “not comfortable” with his party’s proposal, which shocked many on Capitol Hill – because Upton has spent five years as one of the GOP’s top officials on health care policy, directly helping shape the Republican agenda on the issue.
Yesterday, as USA Today reported, brought an even bigger surprise.
It is truly outrageous that they are even talking about pre-existing conditions as a point of negotiation.
What good is served by denying medical treatment to people who need it? What kind of person denies healthcare to others?
Why do we have to even talk about this and beg these representatives for some show of humanity?
Good Lord, how bad can this get?
This is VERY IMPORTANT: For employer plans, there would be a race to the bottom on essential benefits, ban on lifetime limits, cost limits. https://t.co/J5QXzc9nEJ
— Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) May 2, 2017
With state waivers to weaken essential health benefits in AHCA, employer health plan protections could disappear too https://t.co/oWcQqnFGWr pic.twitter.com/qNjBgPQUJM
— Loren Adler (@LorenAdler) May 2, 2017
PLEASE KEEP CALLING. You are making a big difference.
House switchboard: (202) 225-3121 https://t.co/M8LRXzPTM2
— meta (@metaquest) May 2, 2017
Yes, it is true. The so called president is an idiot.
Wow!
It’s utterly disgusting & downright CRIMINAL for America to justify for any reasons that this idiot is qualified to sit in the Oval Office leather.
I’ll say it again:
Not.enough.coincidences.in.the.Western.World.
Mysterious rash of Russian deaths cast suspicion on Vladimir Putin
Oren Dorell , USA TODAY
Published 5:04 a.m. ET May 2, 2017
A former member of the Russian parliament is gunned down in broad daylight in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. A longtime Russian ambassador to the United Nations drops dead at work. A Russian-backed commander in the breakaway Ukrainian province of Donetsk is blown up in an elevator. A Russian media executive is found dead in his Washington, D.C., hotel room.
What do they have in common? They are among 38 prominent Russians who are victims of unsolved murders or suspicious deaths since the beginning of 2014, according to a list compiled by USA TODAY and British journalist Sarah Hurst, who has done research in Russia.
The list contains 10 high-profile critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin, seven diplomats, six associates of Kremlin power brokers who had a falling out — often over corruption — and 13 military or political leaders involved in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, including commanders of Russian-backed separatist forces. Two are possibly connected to a dossier alleging connections between President Trump’s campaign staff and Kremlin officials that was produced by a former British spy and shared with the FBI.
Finished the first episode of Dear White People on Netflix. There was a scene of a meeting of all the differing Black factions on campus. Had me HOLLERING in it’s accuracy. I know everyone of those Black folks. Hilarious!
Can’t wait to continue watching it.
She really should stick to selling shoes. https://t.co/oaLjPXMzfM
— Imani Gandy (@AngryBlackLady) May 2, 2017
Ivanka told Cecile Richards that Planned Parenthood should split in two: one for abortions, one for health services https://t.co/fD8KMtZ7I5 pic.twitter.com/TCqqznVuYK
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) May 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/womensmarch/status/859411621415763969
He looked like a baby. Just a baby.
Another murdered child and the same failed cop lies.
These black children keep getting catapulted back into Emmett Till’s America, and some don’t survive.
It just reminds us that we better stay focused.
We’ve got Scalia II on SCOTUS. We’ve got the DOJ being decimated by Bull Connor II. And these are some serious problems.
TRUTH
https://mobile.twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/859243775939538944
Quick Takes: Trump Doesn’t Know What’s In the GOP Healthcare Bill
A round-up of news that caught my eye today.
by Nancy LeTourneau May 1, 2017 6:01 PM
You can see for yourself what Trump had to say about what is/isn’t in the Republican health care bill by watching this video. Sarah Kliff explains:
Kliff is right, he either knows what’s in the bill and is lying about it, or he doesn’t know but is trying to bullshit his way through pretending like he cares. Either way, it is a frightening performance from a POTUS.
https://twitter.com/SavingPlaces/status/859150604467359744
From BJ:
Which one of these undecideds will cast the vote that takes away insurance from Jimmy Kimmel’s baby and thousands of others?
AK-1 Don Young
CA-21 David Valadao
CA-49 Darrell Issa
CO-6 Mike Coffman
FL-18 Brian Mast
FL-25 Mario Diaz-Balart
FL-26 Carlos Curbelo
IL-16 Adam Kinzinger
IN-5 Susan W. Brooks
KS-3 Kevin Yoder
ME-2 Bruce Poliquin
MI-3 Justin Amash
MI-6 Fred Upton
MN-3 Erik Paulsen
NJ-11 Rodney Frelinghuysen
NY-19 John J. Faso
NY-21 Elise Stefanik
OH-10 Michael R. Turner
PA-4 Scott Perry
VA-1 Rob Wittman
WV-1 David B. McKinley
If you live in any districts where one of these potential mass murderers lives, give them a call. (via TPM)
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 5/1/17
Trump EPA denies Americans access to decades of climate data
Gina McCarthy, former EPA administrator, reacts to the EPA under Donald Trump removing the climate change section from its web site, and talks about the value of environmental protections to “normal human beings.”
https://twitter.com/ACLUTx/status/859129076682043392
“As @dankildee told us, it’s callers from red areas who killed #Trumpcare the first time.”
Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 https://t.co/X8Fwpff89p
— Dan Kildee (@dankildee) May 2, 2017
Our report on this is now out: https://t.co/ky5WZerUMi https://t.co/cRayGas34D
— Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) May 2, 2017
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 5/1/17
Trump compromises US human rights leadership by praising despots
Senator Chris Murphy talks with Rachel Maddow about how Donald Trump’s repeated praise for despots and dictators degrades the high global moral standing of the United States and gives license to other leaders who are inclined to abuse their power.
Interesting that the man who says he’s so good at making deals is now floating a change to the Senate rules because he can’t make a deal. pic.twitter.com/THX64wEJGp
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/3ChicsPolitico/status/859407292147564545
Thanks for this update, SG2.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 5/1/17
Trump administration weak on basic competence
Rachel Maddow points out how Donald Trump has hired people who are ill-suited for the roles in which they’re meant to serve, like contraception skeptic Teresa Manning in charge of contraception programs, or anti-abortion activist Charmaine Yoest bringing alternative facts to HHS.
https://twitter.com/AP/status/859405291313672192
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 5/1/17
Poor hires may explain poor performance of Trump administration
Rachel Maddow looks at how Donald Trump’s weak vetting and handing out government positions as political favors puts his administration at a disadvantage for performing government functions.
Phuck.outta.here. with this bullshyt.
With anti-populist push, Republicans inadvertently help Dems
05/02/17 08:41 AM
By Steve Benen
It’s as counter-intuitive as it is baffling: a significant number of voters who backed Barack Obama in 2012 switched in 2016 to support the Republican who spent years pushing a racist conspiracy theory about Barack Obama. As the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent noted yesterday, Democratic strategists are focusing not only on understanding why, but also on steps the party can take to bring these voters back.
Greg relied on reporting Priorities USA, a Democratic super PAC, which conducted focus groups of Obama-Trump voters in Wisconsin and Michigan, states that backed Trump after decades of supporting Democratic presidential tickets. Among the most surprising findings was the 42% of Obama-Trump voters who said “congressional Democrats’ economic policies will favor the wealthy, vs. only 21 percent of them who said the same about Trump.”
In other words, for a sizable chunk of voters, Trump’s faux populism con worked. Enough voters fell for the scam to put him in the White House.
Why would the Trump admin target the Energy Star program?
05/02/17 09:20 AM
By Steve Benen
About a month ago, the Environmental Protection Agency announced the winners of the annual “Energy Star Partner of the Year Award,” which ordinarily wouldn’t be an especially important political story. But there’s more to this one.
As The New Republic noted, the Energy Star awards are given to businesses and organizations that excel in energy efficiency, and the EPA hailed the Energy Star program as “America’s resource for saving energy and protecting the environment.”
The trouble is, right around the time the EPA was awarding this year’s winners, Donald Trump’s White House announced its plan to eliminate the Energy Star program.
If you’ve ever shopped for an appliance – refrigerators, dishwashers, even computers – you’ve probably noticed the blue-and-white star on the box, letting consumers know about the product’s energy efficiency. The program isn’t expensive, and for nearly three decades, it hasn’t been controversial in the slightest.
Team Trump nevertheless believes it’s time to scrap the entire initiative, and as the Associated Press reported the other day, no one seems to think that’s a good idea.
Republican accidentally tells the truth about GOP health policy
05/02/17 08:00 AM
By Steve Benen
As the Republicans’ health care crusade continues, we’ve grown accustomed to hearing GOP lawmakers present their regressive ideas in the most politically palatable ways they can think of. Occasionally, however, a GOP official will slip and say what he’s actually thinking.
TPM highlighted just such an instance late yesterday.
Health care proponents routinely argue that the Republican approach would effectively punish those who most need care. Brooks not only conceded the point, he suggested that those who most need care are less deserving of protection.
This is who they are. This is what they believe.
Republican Blurts Out That Sick People Don’t Deserve Affordable Care
By Jonathan Chait
Republicans usually defend their health-care position with an array of buzzwords like choice, patient-centric, or competition. In a CNN interview, Representative Mo Brooks, an Alabama Republican, makes the case for Trumpcare in much starker terms: It will free healthy people from having to pay the cost of the sick. “It will allow insurance companies to require people who have higher health care costs to contribute more to the insurance pool that helps offset all these costs, thereby reducing the cost to those people who lead good lives, they’re healthy, they’ve done the things to keep their bodies healthy,” explained Brooks. “And right now, those are the people who have done things the right way that are seeing their costs skyrocketing.”
………………………..
The Republican plan expresses one of the core beliefs shared by movement conservatives, and utterly alien to people across the globe, right and left: that people who can’t afford the cost of their own medical care have nobody to blame but themselves.
https://youtu.be/MmWWoMcGmo0
All the blessings for a speedy recovery, for your child, Jimmy kimmel.
It’s frightening for any parent to have to endure surgery for their children, let alone a newborn infant.
Jimmy Kimmel has a platform to share his fears, his emotions about his family’s experience. Many Americans don’t.
My only hope is that folks don’t get bogged down in Jimmy Kimmel’s experience, and that if he truly wants to serve the greater good, he can speak out against the ATROCIOUS TRUMP CARE, and the GOP’s attempts to ROB us blind and take aware OBAMACARE from Americans with pre-existing conditions.
THERE, I SAID IT.
New York State Trumpcare Alert
https://mobile.twitter.com/TopherSpiro/status/859368493791236096
Trumpcare Alert
https://mobile.twitter.com/TopherSpiro/status/859181285071351810
Good Morning, Everyone😄😄😄
Good Morning, Rikrah & Everyone. I am getting some MUCH needed rest.
Thanks for holding it down 3 Chics!
You get that rest!!!
So good that you are taking care of yourself, Ametia.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/a4/4d/ac/a44dacb9e33200fcc1e2b963bf990c5e.jpg
The Light, THE LIGHT… God have Mercy.
Jordan Edwards’ LIGHT was snuffed out by another murdering, coward killer COP