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

[numberthirty]

Why -- it's like being surprised that Trump is Trump.

"When people show you who they are -- believe them."

Keep that in mind when someone points out the glaring issues in Harris' time as Attorney General.

[Tendrin]

Keep that in mind when someone points out the glaring issues in Harris' time as Attorney General.

I have no trouble with Harris' issues being discussed by people in good faith. She should have to talk about that and her positions on those issues.

[aja_christopher]

Like, the dude spent years, years! castigating Clinton for having talked about superpredators, while Bernie actually was involved in the legislation and voted for it -- but SUPER PREDATORS, MAN! But now that we're talking about Harris, Bernie's past totally is irrelevant and only recent things matter.

I expect that at this point.

My main issue revolves around rhetoric vs. voting: if he's not going to actually vote for someone (like Hillary or Harris) who might make a difference (abortion rights, civil rights, health care, tax cuts, etc) even when the guy he keeps promoting tells him to do so, then why bother even trying to reason with him over the matter.

You can't expect a rational solution to an irrational problem.

[numberthirty]

Like, the dude spent years, years! castigating Clinton for having talked about superpredators, while Bernie actually was involved in the legislation and voted for it -- but SUPER PREDATORS, MAN! But now that we're talking about Harris, Bernie's past totally is irrelevant and only recent things matter.

Yes. Recent unjustifiable actions taken in a time long since there was any doubt about how we jail people being an utter failure matters more.

It's one thing to be a part of a mistake happening. It's another to look at that mistake and say "Nope. Let's stick with that."

[Tendrin]

Yes. Recent unjustifiable actions taken in a time long since there was any doubt about how we jail people being an utter failure matters more.

It's one thing to be a part of a mistake happening. It's another to look at that mistake and say "Nope. Let's stick with that."

You can spin whatever justifications you want for it now.

This is a new position for you, however.

[Tendrin]

I expect that at this point.

My main issue revolves around rhetoric vs. voting: if he's not going to actually vote for someone (like Hillary or Harris) who might make a difference (abortion rights, civil rights, health care, tax cuts, etc) even when the guy he keeps promoting tells him to do so, then why bother even trying to reason with him over the matter.

You can't expect a rational solution to an irrational problem.

You are right, of course.

[aja_christopher]

You are right, of course.

To be fair, he might prove me wrong next election, but I'm not holding my breath.

Still, we shouldn't give people any extra credit for putting their money where their mouth is and actually voting for the issues they claim to support, instead of just constantly complaining when a candidate who is relatively "progressive" -- especially in comparison to the alternative -- isn't 100% aligned with their views.

But it's like my great aunt once told me -- you can't save people that don't want to save themselves.

[aja_christopher]

Meanwhile... back at the Hall of Justice...

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"UN Chief: World Has Less Than 2 Years to Avoid ‘Runaway Climate Change'"

"“The time has come for our leaders to show they care about the people whose fate they hold in their hands,” Guterres said. “We need to rapidly shift away from our dependence on fossil fuels.”

Guterres praised the Paris climate accord during his address but also called for more efforts to reduce the emissions that scientists say have been warming the planet over the past century.

“These targets were really the bare minimum to avoid the worst impacts of climate change,” Guterres said. “But scientists tell us that we are far off track. According to a U.N. study, the commitments made so far by the parties to the Paris Agreement represent just one-third of what is needed.”

The goal of the Paris agreement is to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels in order to prevent what many scientists say would be catastrophic impacts on the global climate.

President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the pact last year, a move that separated the U.S. from the rest of the world on climate change. At the time, Trump called the climate change agreement “unfair at the highest level to the United States.”

Guterres on Monday also rejected claims from critics who say that shifting away from fossil fuels like oil and coal would be costly, calling that notion “hogwash.”

“Over the past decade, extreme weather and the health impact of burning fossil fuels have cost the American economy at least $240 billion a year,” Guterres said. “This cost will explode by 50 percent in the coming decade alone. By 2030, the loss of productivity caused by a hotter world could cost the global economy $2 trillion.”

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-env...unaway-climate

[numberthirty]

To be fair, he might prove me wrong next election, but I'm not holding my breath.

Still, we shouldn't give people any extra credit for putting their money where their mouth is and actually voting for the issues they claim to support, instead of just constantly complaining when a candidate who is relatively "progressive" -- especially in comparison to the alternative -- isn't 100% aligned with their views.

But it's like my great aunt once told me -- you can't save people that don't want to save themselves.

Which no on is asking of a candidate.

That said, I don't really believe that "Was on the right side of if people should be kept in prison for the economic benefit of the state less than five years ago." is too big of an ask when it comes to what you want to back in a candidate.

[Tami]

Video shows men trying to throw boy off Muni train for apparently playing loud music

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - San Francisco Police are investigating a violent incident that occurred on a Muni train Thursday evening.

Freelance journalist Anna Sterling was the first to post the video which shows two men trying to throw a young man off the Muni train, apparently because he was playing music too loudly.

She wrote, "Whoa these two men just tried to throw this kid off the Muni train because he was playing music too loudly. He easily could’ve hit oncoming traffic. That is not okay.”

In one of the videos, a woman can be heard asking the men to leave the man alone. In the video the man appears to be restraining the other man in a headlock. The woman is heard saying, "He's a kid, leave him alone."

[Tami]

Be afraid North Carolina. Be very afraid.

Trump is claiming that the death toll in Puerto Rico is a hoax.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Be afraid North Carolina. Be very afraid.

Trump is claiming that the death toll in Puerto Rico is a hoax.

I liked this response which is oh, so VERY true:

Lots of white people in North Carolina. The response will be totally different.

[aja_christopher]

Which no on is asking of a candidate.

That said, I don't really believe that "Was on the right side of if people should be kept in prison for the economic benefit of the state less than five years ago." is too big of an ask when it comes to what you want to back in a candidate.

Ok.

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"Feds holding 12,800 migrant children in detention centers, report says"

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/feds-ho...s-report-says/'

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/im...t-kids-n884871

[Kirby101]

So 30 throws up a highly biased editorial about Harris. Here is a more nuanced piece from Thinkprogress. Shows that she was not in favor of incarcerating people just to provide force labor.

California Attorney General Says Her Office’s Defense Of Prison Labor ‘Evokes Chain Gangs’


She wasn't great on the issue, but she understood the problem, especially about drug offenders.

“The war on drugs was a failure,” she said at a policy conference hosted by the Center for American Progress. “These so-called ‘tough on crime’ approaches have resulted in a nearly 800 percent rise in incarceration nationally. It’s just not smart to have those approaches. Instead of keeping them because of a blind adherence to tradition, we should ask, ‘What is the return on investment?’”

But Harris has not been as strong on drug policy reform as some of her constituents would like. She declined to join in other states’ efforts to remove marijuana from the DEA’s list of most-dangerous substances, and issued a somewhat mixed statement when federal agents raided compliant medical marijuana dispensaries in California.

With California voters possibly deciding the future of recreational marijuana in 2016, Harris is focusing her attention elsewhere — particularly on programs to reduce recidivism, as California has one of the highest rates in the nation with 70 percent of released prisoners returning in three years or less. “It’s a broken system. It has wasted taxpayer money. I feel strongly that we need reform,” she said, citing programs California is pursuing to support ex-offenders in finding work, housing and education.

I would like to to say that I was impressed by Harris during the Kavinaugh hearings. I would gladly support here if she were the nominee in 2020.

[Tami]

Puerto Rico is asking for statehood. Congress should listen.

It’s official: Hurricane Maria was the deadliest natural disaster to hit US soil in more than a century.

Nearly 3,000 Puerto Ricans, who are American citizens, died in connection to the Category 4 storm that hit the island about a year ago, according to a report published Tuesday by researchers at George Washington University. The updated death toll confirms what many people already knew: that the original death count of 16 was way off, and that the local and federal government failed to protect the lives of millions of US citizens who live on the island.

On Tuesday, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló acknowledged the new death toll and — for the first time — took responsibility. President Donald Trump did no such thing.

After Rosselló updated the official death toll to 2,975 on Tuesday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders released a statement saying that Trump is proud of the federal response to Hurricane Maria, and that the US government will continue to support Puerto Rico’s recovery.

Trump never acknowledged the deaths of his fellow Americans. Instead — when asked directly by a reporter — he downplayed the news and reiterated that his administration “did a fantastic job” and suggested that Puerto Rico was grateful.

That a sitting US president would expect no political consequences from showing zero empathy toward the deaths of so many American citizens crystallizes the fact that Puerto Rico’s status as a US territory is more than a civil rights issue — it’s a human rights issue.

More than 3 million US citizens live in Puerto Rico with fewer constitutional rights than anyone living in one of the 50 states. Americans on the island can’t vote for president in the general election or elect a voting member of Congress. But the federal government’s response to Hurricane Maria has shown that the problem is even uglier than that: Puerto Rico’s status as a US territory, which is rooted in racist legal rulings, has created a class of citizens whose lives are valued less, and whose deaths can be ignored by America’s most powerful leaders.

New bipartisan bill calls for Puerto Rico statehood

Lawmakers on Wednesday introduced new bipartisan legislation to make Puerto Rico the nation's 51st state by 2021.

The bill, known as the Puerto Rico Admission Act of 2018 was presented by Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner, Jenniffer González-Colón, a Republican who authored the bill and is a nonvoting member of Congress.

“This is the first step to open a serious discussion to determine the ultimate political status of Puerto Rico,” González said. “To sum everything up, this is about equality."

The bipartisan effort is co-sponsored by 36 members of Congress, 22 Republicans and 14 Democrats.

“I’m pleased to be one of the sponsors,” said Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources. “I look forward to the day 51 is a reality.”