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

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

Among the many questions that now remain unanswered is why the family’s lawyer was then involved in discussions of a possible rescue plan as recently as this month hunt3r or anyone in the us of a read all this. Just let him swing, you fucks.” part of me just wants to see if the html signalling works.

It didn’t. my advice? the same.

Who could have foreseen any of this from someone who looks and carries himself like someone playing the devil on a tv show

Good description of him in today’s tabs: the villainous real-estate developer in a live action Minecraft movie

He could attach the next 7% to a different spending priority, there’s a certain amount of logic to that

― Canon in Deez (silby), Wednesday, March 31, 2021 5:48 PM (yesterday)

keep 'em coming

Some context on how Biden plans to fund his infrastructure package. pic.twitter.com/0U5zuXEhaI

— Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) March 31, 2021

nb: "Lemme add an important qualifier: This graph shows statutory tax rates, while for corporate taxes, the proliferation of loopholes means that it's often more important to focus on effective rates, which are often a lot lower (and have fallen more over time)."

The move to claw back offshore corporate income seems like a big deal. Dunno if it’s worth more than going back to where we were 4 years ago but it’s not nothing.

I'm highly sceptical of anything coming of it, obv, but yes big if true.

yeah it's a big deal simply because it's something where there used to be nothing, but it's not nearly enough, like rumors of a potential goal in a football match where the other side has 200 points and gains five every quarter.

cool thanks

I've never seen the point in "believing" in politicians, for their momentary convictions must align with mine; but this desiccated piece of shit called Joe Biden seems to have seized a liberal moment with less temerity than I expected exactly a year ago.

Sure, I keep my expectations low because I didn't think Joe Biden would do it. I'm a Warren/Sanders guy, and I suspect they would've handled these legislative battles less effectively.

This is where my expectations were before the election, so he’s exceeded those!

It's been just seven months since Biden's advisor Ted Kaufman told the WSJ that the "pantry" would be "bare" in 2021 and Biden would "have limited funds to do what we’re going to do.”https://t.co/jCpengF7Ux https://t.co/D181grr7Bv

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) March 31, 2021

Yeah, same, I did not expect a flipped Senate. Thk u ATL.

The cartoonishly scandalous perception of Gaetz is so commonplace that sometimes it’s visible, literally, in the halls of Congress. A Hill source sent The Daily Beast a photo of a trash bin outside Gaetz's office as lawmakers cleared out their offices at the end of a recent session. At the top of the heap was an empty Costco-size box of “Bareskin” Trojan condoms.

Now lock thread

an empty Costco-size box of “Bareskin” Trojan condoms: us politics april etc

who uses condoms to masturbate

Vaccines, Infrastructure, and Kids In Cages: US Politics April 2021