Drill Baby Drill...the US Politics Thread (Part 3)

This story is probably the best illustration of how broken our politics is. One of Cuomo’s biggest backers neither liked him nor even preferred him, he just assumed he would win and so to avoid retribution paid his expected patronage fee. But now the spiteful lord is out of the way he will happily put his support behind the other guy

1 Like

Ok, I know I’m on a run that is making Discobot angry at me, but this is my last one (maybe).

Trump put his focus on needing to be more aggressive with interior immigration actions because it was about removing criminals. We know that is odds with the data, that undocumented immigrants commit less crime than citizens, but here we have the evidence of what his policies actually do

From a 10:1 ratio to more or less a 1:1 ratio. You might still reasonably support aggressive deportation policy, but it is not supportable as a public safety measure based on getting rid of criminals.

5 Likes

Are they making you nervous?

Both me and Mrs Limie are naturalized citizens and her dad isn’t even a citizen despite living here for 50 years. We’re not in a peeking through the curtains anxious, but we’re definitely conscious of it and it has had some impact on our decision making about what is worth leaving the country for to minimize our exposure to CBP upon coming home.

I was here for about 25 years before I bit the bullet and submitted my citizenship application. That was something I publicly declared I was doing just so I could vote against this fucking moron, which is more or less what they cry arse about (illegals coming here to vote). It also means over the years prior I’d submitted maybe 10 or 15 different immigration applications - from my student visas to OPT to H1Bs with numerous extensions, a green card and a single renewal. There is no way there isn’t at least a single inconsistency across those various documents. In this climate of looking for people who “lied on their application” to revoke their status they surely could with me if they wanted to.

3 Likes

You’d be better off out of that shit hole. Relocate to a first world country.

For the first time ever the thought has been in the back of my mind too. My wife is an American citizen, born here. She went to University in the UK, that’s how we met. We lived in England for 11 years after getting married, and that’s where our kids were born. When they were little we moved here.

Along the way me and the two kids became naturalized citizens. All four of us in our house hold both UK and USA passports. Both kids are going to college here.

My daughter is planning to go to Australia for a wedding. It didn’t even occur to her that people are getting pulled in when they cross the border just for being critical of Trump via their social media. It’s a concern because, like a lot of the world, she thinks he is a dangerous idiot and I’m sure there’s plenty on her phone to show that.

Later in the year we will probably go back to the UK for a visit to see family, especially as my dad gets older and it has been too long. Again, the climate around ICE has given me thoughts about the potential hassle of it all.

It’s a weird one. I live and work here as a naturalized citizen. I pay all my taxes. I’ve never so much as had a speeding ticket. I own a home. I have been active in the community as our kids grew up, coaching youth soccer.

It’s a normal, “boring” (lol) trouble-free suburban life. Working. Raising a family. Being a neighbor and part of the community.

But something has shifted here, and for the first time ever, because it all seems so lawless, I have had fleeting thoughts of, “What if they come for me and my family?”

7 Likes

The exit inspections by CBP are particularly jarring. I believe that is occurring at land crossings, but it is still startling. Crossing into Canada is on average taking more time on the US side, because there are far more (supposedly random) physical inspections

Mate, if you are feeling up to it, it would be great if you could unpack this a little bit. From my perspective it seems like you are repeating right wing tropes that education and the fight for equality are somehow negative (you can guess that I don’t share that view!), but I’d like to try and understand your point of view a little better.

It’s a slippery slope to MAGA retardation - don’t risk it!

5 Likes

He drinks it out of a firehose.

Back when I was giving the benefit of doubt we were discussing the detainment and immigration proceedings against Mahmoud Khalil, the Colombia student. He repeatedly kept defending it on the basis of foreigners knowing that “criminal” activity put their legal status at risk. This is of course correct, but completely irrelevant to the case as the State Department was not only not accusing him of a crime, they were explicitly stating that no crimes had been committed. Articles quoting Rubio saying such were ignored and were responded with mockery, and reverting back to non-sequiturs about Dems being woke and people being tired of being cancelled for disagreeing with those social views. Yet here he was cheering on an attempted deportation of a permanent resident over speech, and supporting the action with a commitment to not learning what the details of the actual case were.

That is just one example but is illustrative of the way he has routinely conducted himself in these conversations.

4 Likes

This is historical moment.
https://x.com/JuliaManch/status/1938278169699598394

When faced with the opportunity to punch left, for the first time ever, Slotkin passes at the opportunity and instead offers positive words.

Come for the rabid antisemitism. Stay for one of the most abrupt and confusing changes over direction you’ve ever seen.
https://x.com/atrupar/status/1938343088922964201

Even from this moron this is notable. It’s like he’s reading direct from a teleprompter in which someone skipped an entire page of a speech

4 Likes

It’s pretty obvious really.

1 Like

This is a nice intro into why you have to be careful when interpreting polling data about support for deportations, or Trump’s approach to immigration.

Popular support is and continues to be far more aligned with how Democratic administrations operate. However, when a demagogue runs a platform of a made up immigration situation and makes promises that cannot be kept, because the situation he is describing doesn’t exist, the idea will appear to be popular but that support will quickly unravel when the narrative bumps up to reality. The polling doesnt have to be particularly sophisticated to ask questions in a way that unravels this, but little of it has had even that minimal level of sophistication.

3 Likes

Two part story

https://x.com/Taniel/status/1938360510061416696

The long time Senator for Maine is incredibly unpopular right now, largely interpreted as the famously independent population disliking how little she is standing up to Trump. Yet in the absence of the popular Dem Governor challenging her, Dems cannot seem find anyone exciting, or even credible candidates to run against her.

I think we now know the real reason @Sweeting is on sabbatical.

2 Likes

Bit harsh, she’s still only 72, basically a spring chicken for a US senator. The way your country treats political talents…

2 Likes

When her colleague derisively refer to her as “boomer” they mean she is too young and inexperienced.

3 Likes

So who is an American? As you seem to be excluding anyone non white, female or gay, you’re basically left with the Marlboro Man.

4 Likes

As always, he has no idea of what he is talking about, probably less so now.
That was just tripe!

2 Likes