Beware the Ides of March -- U.S. Politics March 2021

and the current administration is fairly conservative

puerto rico would likely be a swing state, and republicans who are staunchly opposed to its joining the union are doing a racism of their own

biden is already on record as supporting dc statehood

DC should be a state. Pass it on. https://t.co/xUJ1sud76f

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 25, 2020

considering DC is the most reliable Democratic voting entity -- it's like, well hello buttered side of the bread

seems to me the first and most urgent way of approach this major new "tax hike" on the rich would be to just... undo the Trump tax cuts on the rich. and the Bush ones too.

it a) looks better and b) could be more effective to actually design new & simple taxes

meanwhile, DC residents are something like 85% in favor. Also, DC residents pay taxes that PR residents don’t. DC should get to go first.

This and subsequent arguments are good, but also fuck it, just get both done at once. Don't waste money redesigning the flag twice.

And brand this DC reinvention as The New 52, that always works.

http://danbliss.blogspot.com/2011/11/51-star-flag.html

52 is definitely better than 51 here

the argument from design suggests we need to jump right to 54 states.

Or they could not change a thing and just tell people there are 51 stars.

also alphabetical order

American Samoa would like a word with you, President Keyes.

Guam says we're cool, though

It's not really up to anyone except Puerto Ricans to decide, tbqh.

Of the ~20 or so Puerto Ricans I know, none of them want statehood and curse the US every chance they get.

(Of course, that's a small sample size and I'm friends with them, so yknow, echo chamber stuff)

Of the ~20 or so Puerto Ricans I know, none of them want statehood and curse the US every chance they get.

Sounds like Texas

are they in Puerto Rico?

btw, if I understand it correctly, the COVID relief bill included a provision that removed one big obstacle to student debt forgiveness, viz. normally a forgiven debt is considered taxable income. under the relief bill already passed and signed by Biden, this requirement would be waived until 2026, if student debt forgiveness moves forward in some form.

that is correct. was very happy to hear that made it in. i hope they can move on it soon

it depends on the debt ... there was precedent with the mortgage crisis and foreclosures.

https://i.imgur.com/6ibK5aV.jpg

oh

This is the central role of the media now, just to verify that things and people exist.

(a thankless job tbh)

Picture of turd in White House toilet is real; awaiting DNA result on whether it's Biden's

This is the central role of the media now, just to verify that things and people exist.

and if it's the wrong channel, they still don't believe it. i watched a guy on a ted cruz twitter thread refuse to believe that a video of ted cruz saying horrible shit was what he actually said, because it was on msnbc

This is why I’m not too worried about deepfakes

I’m not sure how much more clearly the people of Puerto Rico can indicate that they want statehood. If you believe in democracy, well, a majority of them voted for it in 2020. Like, what more do you want? How many more elections do you need to see?

And yeah, if you’re a person of Puerto Rican descent who doesn’t live in Puerto Rico, your opinion doesn’t really count any more than mine does.

pretty sure my opinion counts less than a person of Puerto Rican descent or a resident of Puerto Rico ...

everyone's opinion counts exactly the same. unless you're rich, it's jack shit

ok, upon my very first thought, that's not true

gonna play portal 2 now in HD

The point is that Cubans in Miami don’t get to set policy for Cuba, and Puerto Ricans in NYC don’t get to set policy for Puerto Rico, any more than I get to set policy for Norway.

kinda feel like the hierarchy goes like:

citizens of Puerto Rico
former Puerto Rico residents
people who have never lived in Puerto Rico but have family there
Jeff Bezos
Joe Biden
white male American ILXors who post on the US politics thread
MSNBC content providers
people who bought Puerto Rican influenced food in the past month in Chicago
me
racist Trump supporters

the comparison between these groups is not exactly equivalent as US voters do indeed have more of a direct impact on Puerto Rico than Cuba or Norway. Also, while the opinions of Puerto Ricans is the number one factor to take into account, I'd argue it isn't the only one, as a bunch of non-Puerto Ricans have to vote on it.

The hierarchy is:
Citizens of Puerto Rico


That’s it.

And the questions of whether Puerto Rico wants to be a state and whether the US will admit Puerto Rico as a state are categorically distinct, obviously.

xpost thanks sarahell it's really nice to be included in the process

seems like some politicians have some thoughts on this topic

Puerto Rico can no longer be treated like a colony. The people of Puerto Rico deserve the right to decide their own future, and have their voices heard. https://t.co/Xzg0PnzHOQ

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) March 18, 2021

I don’t see why he gets any say in who gets a say

Cubans are honorary boricuas to them

Reminded me of this analysis from last fall. There's no certainty Puerto Rico would be blue.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/09/09/puerto-rico-statehood-politics-democrats-republicans-senate-409191

quality politicking:

Sen. @RandPaul: "If we're not spreading the infection, isn't it just theater? You have the vaccine and you're wearing two masks, isn't that theater?

Dr. Anthony Fauci: "Here we go again with the theater. Let's get down to the facts."

Full video here: https://t.co/61RnSUvayG pic.twitter.com/xDWnCuFjjO

— CSPAN (@cspan) March 18, 2021

Theatre is having a fake board certification in opthalmology

http://danbliss.blogspot.com/2011/11/51-star-flag.html

52 is definitely better than 51 here

― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Thursday, March 18, 2021 4:03 PM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

There are other 51-star designs. Namely:
https://preview.redd.it/3ftk3h2wtko51.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=3992f80c70c289789a10ebb92004a40ccdda3192

The old SB/FP flag

That is a literal flag post

kinda feel like the hierarchy goes like:

citizens of Puerto Rico
former Puerto Rico residents
people who have never lived in Puerto Rico but have family there
Jeff Bezos
Joe Biden
white male American ILXors who post on the US politics thread
MSNBC content providers
people who bought Puerto Rican influenced food in the past month in Chicago
me
racist Trump supporters

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Invisible_Man_%281952_1st_ed_jacket_cover%29.jpg

kinda feel like the hierarchy goes like:

citizens of Puerto Rico
former Puerto Rico residents
people who have never lived in Puerto Rico but have family there
Jeff Bezos
Joe Biden
white male American ILXors who post on the US politics thread
MSNBC content providers
people who bought Puerto Rican influenced food in the past month in Chicago
me
racist Trump supporters

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Invisible_Man_%281952_1st_ed_jacket_cover%29.jpg

dammit phone

^ omits mention of vast numbers of women in any category above racist Trump supporters. sounds about right.