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

Exactly, thank you

Just because Biden isn’t laying all his cards on the table right now and giving us the details of his plan doesn’t mean he is twiddling his thumbs, or doesn’t have a plan, or is being actively malicious.

And who the f knows what kind of land mines the Trump admin left for them that they have to deal with first. Count me as very suspicious of the current narrative. Sorry for taking that out on anyone here.

I heard immigration reporter Dara Lind explain the situation on a podcast recently, but all I really took away was "It's complicated."

GET THE KIDS OUT OF THE GODDAMNED CAGES

that "simple" enough for you

I love how AOC said that people criticizing the Biden admin for keeping kids in cages are operating from a privileged position

when/where did she say that?

In the official rag of the DSA (puke), she was asked:

"Some on the Left have looked at Biden’s record and his difference with the Bernie wing of the party, and they conclude that no progress is going to come out of the Biden administration. What’s your view?”

She replied:

"Well, I think it’s a really privileged critique. We’re gonna have to focus on solidarity with one another, developing our senses for good faith critique and bad faith critique. Because bad faith critique can destroy everything that we have built so swiftly. And we know this because it has in the past, and it’s taken us so many decades to get to this point. We do not have the time or the luxury to entertain bad faith actors in our movement."

hm? is she directly referencing the current situation in that quote?

that "simple" enough for you

if that were the sum total of your position, then I doubt anyone here would have the slightest grounds for disagreement. you reached beyond that and were called on to back up what you stated as true. that may anger you, but it is a legit response.

That's a moronic Beltway question for starters.

So:

- The official rag of the DSA is bullshit
- AOC is bullshit
- Biden is bullshit

Am I missing anything?

tbh I have my own personal sympathies here, but I feel like almost all of these kinds of arguments boil down to a repeating cycle of:

A: we should be focusing on the principle
B: we should be focusing on the process
A: sounds like you're letting Dems off the hook for not changing things
B: sounds like you're ignoring the incremental way that political change works
A: political change won't happen if you don't stand up for principles
B: political change won't happen if you write off the process
A: fuck you
B: fuck you

I'm mostly unclear on why my default assumption should be that Biden is doing his best/trying to do what's right/fix[ing things] as quickly as possible. Nothing in his five decade political career has earned him the benefit of the doubt.

after waltzing into a bunch of climate change deniers after making a comment on a post from my region's national weather service account on facebook, i'm in a "just choppy choppy the white people over 50" kinda mood.

I 100% agree with getting kids out of cages, overcrowded temporary housing, etc. Where should they go? What is your policy recommendation and how would you enact it? Can you ensure their safety and well-being as part of your plan? Let’s have some damned substance here.

No one here makes policy, Big Donebb

Map I am not quite at 50 yet but I say fuck that generalized sentiment

"This situation isn't right" and "the most powerful human being on the planet should be doing better" do not demand that Joe Schmoe have a comprehensive plan that's better. Joe Schmoe isn't President, isn't even in the House of Representatives.

It's on the President to be telling us exactly what the fuck is going on and what he's doing to improve things - rather than blocking media access to the camps.

milo fuck that as well, I have been here for 10+ years under this name alone

I am just asking where you would put the kids

The Four Seasons.

It's more important that we know where Joe Biden wants to put the kids and why they're not there, though.

To clarify the above, I also did not have a different name >10 years ago, I just was not here.

So it sounds like the problem is that Joe Biden isn’t walking us through his plans and the roadblocks he is facing- not that he isn’t working to make things better.

Yes, but the problem is that without the former, we can't disprove the latter. And like milo I don't see any particular reason to extend the benefit of the doubt that he is working on it. I'm also not going to assume he's sitting in the Oval laughing over photos of imprisoned kids but still.

just ftr this is what AOC actually said about kids in cages:

This is not okay, never has been okay, never will be okay - no matter the administration or party. https://t.co/AEV7s7QQnB

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 23, 2021

Of course that's what she actually said about kids in cages. We all knew this and this is why table's nonsense is indistinguishable from right-wing talking points. If you don't like that characterization of your words, don't make it an easy one to make.

Where should they go? What is your policy recommendation and how would you enact it? Can you ensure their safety and well-being as part of your plan? Let’s have some damned substance here.

They should go to relatives in the US, whether those relatives are undocumented or not. They should all be given citizenship. If relatives are not able to be found here, then attempt contact with families in home country to see what the family there wishes. If that can't happen, then allow for adoption by families and communities, and KEEP TRACK OF THE KIDS so that families might be able to locate them in the future. If all else fails, put them all up in any number of vacant luxury hotels, condos, apartment buildings, or office parks. Plop down some yurts on the front lawn of the White House. Move some into the Biden residence in Delaware.

And to be clear, the bone I am picking here is not "why aren't you extending Biden the benefit of the doubt", it's "why are you turning on one of the few people in a position of power who has more consistently done the right thing in her career than not in a manner that makes you sound like Tucker Carlson"

Sorry, saying stuff on Twitter doesn't mean shit to me.

tables--why are they so hard to impress?

It would be nice to see more concrete action from AOC - and far more importantly, Bernie - on the matter, rather than disapproving tweets (which are getting ever more tedious). Block every Biden nominee until we know what the plan is, Bernie.

So, as is often the case, I will acknowledge that yes, AOC does care about the kids in cages. You got me there, DJP.

That said, posting stuff on Twitter and other social media doesn't mean much if the kids aren't out of the cages.

At a certain point, I've become exhausted by what feels like the 'mainstream left' essentially running a good optics campaign and then coming up with no results, and always with excuses...some valid, and some quite laughable.

Also, since Rob is right, I'm going to once again silence myself here for a bit.

If all else fails, put them all up in any number of vacant luxury hotels, condos, apartment buildings, or office parks.

I disagree with "if all else fails."

If you can roll out vaccines at the rate the US is doing then taking care of those kids shouldn’t be too much of a difficulty. I’m usually an increments/compromise/slow process advocate but I fail to see how it applies to actual children in prisons.

I'm pretty sure I read that the process actually is to match up unaccompanied minors with relatives but the relatives have to be vetted. How they are "vetted", I don't know, and that's probably part of the problem. I think it (currently) doesn't matter if the relatives are citizens or not.

Warning, from bourgeois pigs at CNN:

Typically, after being taken into Border Patrol custody, unaccompanied children have to be turned over within 72 hours to the Department of Health and Human Services, which is tasked with the care of migrant children.
HHS was until recently running their shelters at partial capacity to maintain Covid-19 distancing protocols, which had limited its ability to accept children within those first three days. This has forced children to wait in jail-like conditions at Border Patrol adult facilities for longer than the three-day legal limit. ...

It will take time to reunite them with a family member or release them to another appropriate sponsor. But that can take months. By the summer of 2020, the children remaining in custody had been in HHS care for nearly a year on average. The average length of stay for a child in HHS custody is currently 34 days, an administration official said.
HHS has released 131,800 children to US-based sponsors between October 2017 through January 2021. Of those, 43% were discharged to a parent or other legal guardian, 47% were sponsored by another immediate relative, and 10% were released to a distant relative or an unrelated sponsor.

Not defending it, just wanted to find an explanation of current procedure.

The Pentagon could stave off calls from Democrats to slash defense spending by developing innovative climate technology, House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith said. https://t.co/imowAMFPJV

— Bloomberg Government (@BGOV) March 29, 2021

All bombs will be recyclable.

https://www.congress.gov/member/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/O000172?q=%7B%22sponsorship%22%3A%22sponsored%22%7D

It looks like she had several amendments on immigration vetoed in the 116th Congress and a bill against denying federal aid to people based on immigration status that was introduced. Most of the legislation she directly sponsored in the 117th Congress has been around housing and COVID relief. She is a cosponsor on this bill from Jayapal Pramila:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2222?s=5&r=3

This bill from Ayanna Pressley, which she cosponsored, may also apply; the text isn't available yet:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1706/text?r=20&s=5

She is also a cosponsor on this bill from Judy Chu, which also doesn't have available text yet but certainly seems pertinent based on the title:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1333?s=5&r=37

She is a cosponsor of this bill from Grace Meng:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1308/text?r=39&s=5

There are more, but the broader point is that she is putting forward and cosigning legislation focused on these issues. I stopped scrolling so I didn't find a specific bill closing the detention centers. I am sure one exists and that she is cosponsoring it. In terms of what her job is, she is doing what she is supposed to do. In terms of activities outside of her job, she is agitating against senators and executives who are not moving to help the people in these detention centers and is reflecting and amplifying the voices of her constituents on the matter. It would be viscerally exciting to see her pulling down walls and leading people out of the detention centers but she isn't doing that.

Green up that peace dividend, Pentagon!

yeah, they are going to unveil terrifying geoengineering technology, like sulfurous clouds and things

the war on clouds must be fought and won

This thread is a toxic cloud.

Fox anchor: AOC says we shouldn't use the term invasion to describe migrants, "WHO IS USING THOSE WORDS?"

Previously on Fox:
Host: We're seeing an all out invasion on our southern border

Guest: We are seeing an invasion

Host: We got a massive invasion

Guest: It is an invasion pic.twitter.com/It4nNuAMen

— Lis Power (@LisPower1) March 31, 2021

wonder if they will implement their incredibly popular policies...

Buried in the new Morning Consult/Politico poll is an eye-popping statistic: Voters by a 2-to-1 margin prefer a $3 trillion infrastructure bill that includes tax hikes on $400K+ and corporations over one that excludes those tax hikes.

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) March 31, 2021

Meantime, oops.

More alleged deets on fed probe: Doc obtained by @dcexaminer states that Gaetz is “under investigation by the FBI for various public corruption and public integrity issues” and alleges that the FBI is aware of photos depicting Gaetz in a “sexual orgy with underage prostitutes.”

— Daniel Chaitin (@danielchaitin7) March 31, 2021

"sexual orgy" is way too funny a phrase to use in this context

I can’t believe this tweet is still up https://t.co/rOb8jQLIau

— Lisa Snowden (@LisaMcCray) March 31, 2021

Somehow this is all getting even STUPIDER

BREAKING: Documents suggest that Rep. Matt Gaetz’s father was told his son’s legal problems could go away if he gave $25 million to help secure the release of Iranian hostage Bob Levinson https://t.co/59oUJJWMbc

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) March 31, 2021