All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!(Part II)

[numberthirty]

While it was clearly a policy that was likely to hurt parents who were in a tighter spot money-wise, it was small potatoes compared to some of the other things she did while holding that office.

[worstblogever]

On another forum, there was an interesting argument about Senator Kamala Harris, who is likely to run for President.

Someone posted a critical article about her decisions as prosecutor to fine parents of excessively truant children.

https://medium.com/@politicspeach/ka...s-d5dbcc5fde2f

As a note, the writer of the article is shady as hell, with articles about being a Russian troll, accusing Terry Crews of cowardice for not responding to sexual assault with violence, criticizing Obama/ praising DeSantis on pardons of black men convicted unjustly generations ago, and backing a meme to encourage Sanders supporters to leave the Democratic party.

I personally have no objection to what Harris did, although I'm noticing this argument in other writeups about the 2020 primary/ her likely presidential campaign.

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertai...review/579430/

I'm curious what you guys think as well-read people more likely to be of the left. Was it wrong of her to enforce laws fining parents of excessively truant children? Or was this a legitimate response to a serious policy concern?

So you're sharing articles from a self-identifying Russian troll who ratf***s Democrats, and expect us to take any of what it says seriously?

You really are a modern Republican, aren't you?

[Kevinroc]

Dang. Britain is screwed.

Maybe they shouldn't do Brexit. It's dumb.

[Kevinroc]

Trump is making W look like a poet laureate.

"Hamberders."

FFS ...

"Electing a total moron to own the libs."

[WestPhillyPunisher]

"Electing a total moron to own the libs."

And I have no doubt right wingers actually believe that.

[numberthirty]

So you're sharing articles from a self-identifying Russian troll who ratf***s Democrats, and expect us to take any of what it says seriously?

You really are a modern Republican, aren't you?

Easily rectified...

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/08/k...torney-general

The Two Faces of Kamala Harris

Harris’s commitment to harsh punitive measures wasn’t limited to the three-strikes law. For all her recent concern about the incarceration of women and its economic effects, as district attorney, she successfully championed a statewide version of an anti-truancy law she had put in place in San Francisco that threatened parents of chronically truant children with as much as a $2,000 fine and a year in jail. By October 2012, two mothers had been imprisoned under the law.

“We are putting parents on notice,” she said in her inaugural speech as attorney general. “If you fail in your responsibility to your kids, we are going to work to make sure you face the full force and consequences of the law.”

Harris’s championing of the measures was an outgrowth of what she described as a passion for the issue of truancy that she had held since becoming San Francisco’s district attorney. But for its part, the Los Angeles Daily News — in an editorial that endorsed her, no less — argued that “it was hard not to conclude that Harris chose truancy as an election-season focus because it’s an issue without much political risk.”

At the time, Harris was pushing for statewide data collection on truancy, which she said would inform future anti-truancy policies and was something she had first introduced in San Francisco. Yet when the Daily News asked her what this data collection in the city had shown, “she seemed not to know or have thought about it,” the paper wrote.

[Lammasu]

Maybe they shouldn't do Brexit. It's dumb.

Why exactly did people vote for Brexit to begin with? Were people that upset about immigration that they chose a path with big potential for disaster.

[Gray Lensman]

Why exactly did people vote for Brexit to begin with? Were people that upset about immigration that they chose a path with big potential for disaster.

The Leave campaign also sold a bill of goods that fooled.just enough people. I think that is a major reason why the Leave politicians refuse to consider a revote.

[GindyPosts]

Why exactly did people vote for Brexit to begin with? Were people that upset about immigration that they chose a path with big potential for disaster.

No, because the EU was a commie liberal plot designed to bring on One World Government and the Antichrist, or something like that.

I mean, the Union is a bureaucratic mess, but most governments are, and considering that the "No Deal" option is now the most likely, and therefore the most catastrophic, of the UK's scenarios for leaving the Union, it pretty much destroyed Theresa May's legacy. Meanwhile, people like Nigel Farrage are going to sneak away unscathed.

[Tendrin]

Harris has to answer serious questions about her record on Trans issues and choices she made as a prosecutor. Any serious campaign will need to address those. I think we have to recognize that black women in her position are afforded considerably less flexibility than others in that position, and she where she chose to exercise wdhat flexibility she did have and where she did not is something that needs to be talked about by her oponents and by her. This isn't even getting into her positions on SETSA/FOSTA, which is an absolute no-go for me, and I actually like Harris okay.

There's no perfect candidate, no. Be ready to get over it.

[GindyPosts]

What makes it even more insanely comical is Trump is a certified billionaire and could have paid for chefs to treat the team to a good meal and everything. Instead he treated them to a a meal he wanted. Because as he claimed ; this is a meal I like and its American. Like yeah ...well you eat **** daily and your in White House. It doesn't meant if people visit they wanna eat **** food.

Here's the clincher; Trump could have cooked up (no pun intended) a good PR story of hiring a DC catering company to service the team instead of running out and buying hamburgers (or hamberders, or whatever the Sam Hill he called 'em) that, likely, were cold. And there's nothing worse to eat than cold french fries.

Now, had my mom still been alive, she likely would be all "Damn, I want some of those!", and I'm sure plenty of people would be. That's normal, but when you visit the President of the United States, you shouldn't be expecting a banquet that came out freaking My Name is Earl! The argument isn't classism, but rather expectations.

[worstblogever]

Harris has to answer serious questions about her record on Trans issues and choices she made as a prosecutor. Any serious campaign will need to address those. I think we have to recognize that black women in her position are afforded considerably less flexibility than others in that position, and she where she chose to exercise wdhat flexibility she did have and where she did not is something that needs to be talked about by her oponents and by her.

There's no perfect candidate, no. Be ready to get over it.

I remember in '08 there were people who dragged Obama for not being friendly enough to the LGBTQ community.

Then, five years later, he's jogging laps around a rainbow-colored White House with Biden to celebrate Obergefell vs. Hodges.

How much "enough" is "enough" for Democrats to fall in love with a candidate, you know?

[numberthirty]

Harris has to answer serious questions about her record on Trans issues and choices she made as a prosecutor. Any serious campaign will need to address those. I think we have to recognize that black women in her position are afforded considerably less flexibility than others in that position, and she where she chose to exercise wdhat flexibility she did have and where she did not is something that needs to be talked about by her oponents and by her. This isn't even getting into her positions on SETSA/FOSTA, which is an absolute no-go for me, and I actually like Harris okay.

There's no perfect candidate, no. Be ready to get over it.

We're talking about someone who pretty much told rule of law "Stuff It." in order to keep a man who is most likely innocent in jail.

But, yeah. Let's try to make up an excuse for that based on her race/gender.

She is one of about three people who should be in an "Every Other Option Is Dead. Could We Get You To Consider Voting For One Of These Three?" category.

Why nominate someone with clear issues when you have clearly better options?

There is no reason to even seriously consider Harris if Warren is an option.

[numberthirty]

I remember in '08 there were people who dragged Obama for not being friendly enough to the LGBTQ community.

Then, five years later, he's jogging laps around a rainbow-colored White House with Biden to celebrate Obergefell vs. Hodges.

How much "enough" is "enough" for Democrats to fall in love with a candidate, you know?

If it's Harris, you've got to be kidding me.

There is a world of difference between Obama and Harris when it comes to this issue.

[Mister Mets]

So you're sharing articles from a self-identifying Russian troll who ratf***s Democrats, and expect us to take any of what it says seriously?

You really are a modern Republican, aren't you?

There was a typo. I meant to say the person wrote about being accused of being a Russian troll.

I am open about the source of the argument, and my concerns about it. The main reason I posted it was that after reading one version of the argument, I started seeing it in more mainstream places.

I'm largely curious whether this person who is seemingly acting in bad faith accurately identified a fault line in left-wing politics, or whether this is largely a criticism of a helpful policy of fining parents whose kids are excessively truant (a policy that is probably a good idea given the necessity of going to school). Thinking on it a bit more, it might have an appeal to a particular type of anti-authority Bernie bro.