All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[shooshoomanjoe]

Another of Mets' proverbial "slippery slopes" that only seems to be an issue when it comes to Democratic initiatives.

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"DOJ Wants to Suspend Certain Constitutional Rights During Coronavirus Emergency"

"The Trump Department of Justice has asked Congress to craft legislation allowing chief judges to indefinitely hold people without trial and suspend other constitutionally-protected rights during coronavirus and other emergencies, according to a report by Politico’s Betsy Woodruff Swan. While the asks from the Department of Justice will likely not come to fruition with a Democratically-controlled House of Representatives, they demonstrate how much this White House has a frightening disregard for rights enumerated in the Constitution.

The DOJ has requested Congress allow any chief judge of a district court to pause court proceedings “whenever the district court is fully or partially closed by virtue of any natural disaster, civil disobedience, or other emergency situation,” according to draft language obtained by Politico. This would be applicable to “any statutes or rules of procedure otherwise affecting pre-arrest, post-arrest, pre-trial, trial, and post-trial procedures in criminal and juvenile proceedings and all civil processes and proceedings.”

They justify this by saying currently judges can pause judicial proceedings in an emergency but that new legislation would allow them to apply it “in a consistent manner.”

But the Constitution grants citizens habeas corpus which gives arrestees the right to appear in front of a judge and ask to be released before trial. Enacting legislation like the DOJ wants would essentially suspend habeas corpus indefinitely until the emergency ended. Further, DOJ asked Congress to suspend the statute of limitations on criminal investigations and civil proceedings during the emergency until a year after it ended.

Norman L. Reimer, executive director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, told Politico the measure was “terrifying,” saying, “Not only would it be a violation of [habeas corpus], but it says ‘affecting pre-arrest.’ So that means you could be arrested and never brought before a judge until they decide that the emergency or the civil disobedience is over. I find it absolutely terrifying. Especially in a time of emergency, we should be very careful about granting new powers to the government.”

“That is something that should not happen in a democracy,” he added.

DOJ also asked Congress to amend the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to have defendants appear at a hearing via videoconference instead of in-person, but only with the defendant’s consent. But it’s not just Americans’ rights the DOJ wants to violate. They also asked Congress to pass a law saying that immigrants who test positive for COVID-19 cannot qualify as asylum seekers

As coronavirus spreads through the country, activists are calling on politicians in office to release prisoners and immigrants held in detention centers, both of which can be a hotbed of virus activity with so many people in close quarters and limited or non-existent supplies of soap, sanitizer, and protective equipment. Some states have already begun to do so.

But with this, the Trump administration is taking steps to hold more people in prisons for an undetermined amount of time — showing their priority is not saving lives but giving themselves more power."

https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/statu...48274810699776

Schumer's retort:

"Two Words: Hell No."

[babyblob]

My state of Ohio is going on lock down starting Monday at 8pm.

[Darkspellmaster]

My state of Ohio is going on lock down starting Monday at 8pm.

Congrads on joining the rest of us.

[Kusanagi]

I'm surprised Michigan hasn't. Whitmer has followed the play by play of NY and CA up to this point but has refused to go over the final hurdle.

For me personally it's hard to know what I want. I like my job, best job I've had nearly in a decade. If we're forced to shut down I don't know if we'll still be in business when this crisis ends. At the same time I know I'm taking my life into my hands every time I go to work, I work at a factory with hundreds of individuals, if I don't have the virus already it's only a matter of time. I don't know what I want and I don't know what the Governor should do.

[PaulBullion]

That's the sixth seal broken, then.

Keep in mind that there are literally unusually bad plagues of locusts in several parts of the world right now.

[Mister Mets]

But I guess the point Mr M was making is that there’s no really plausible reason to suspect “Karma” exists.

Certainly the corona virus won’t do a moral audit before it afflicts somebody.The good, the bad, the indifferent will all suffer.

Exactly.

Were you also surprised when people chuckled when his neighbor beat the s*** out of him and put him in a hospital?

People aren't making jokes about this because Rand Paul is a Republican. Or a Libertarian. It's because he's a real ***hole.

But I can understand why you might not be able to see the nuance between that, considering Trump has turned the GOP's brand to, "Be an ***hole."

I was not surprised in either case. I expected these kinds of reactions, but they're wrong.

We should not spread the idea that people deserve what happens to them, which also means that if bad things happen, those who suffered must have been bad.

How many of those will have stalled legislation designed to soften the blow of the pandemic for the American people, though? Five? One? Less than one?

I'm sure prominent Democrats and media figures who criticized Trump for restricting entry into the US from China in late January are going to get sick.

It will be wrong to call it karma, because karma is not real. Sometimes, good things happen to bad people, and bad things happen to good people.

[PaulBullion]

Several months before the coronavirus pandemic began, the Trump administration eliminated a key American public health position in Beijing intended to help detect disease outbreaks in China

The number of people Trump shot on 5th avenue will be in the tens of thousands.

[Bruce Wayne]

Several months before the coronavirus pandemic began, the Trump administration eliminated a key American public health position in Beijing intended to help detect disease outbreaks in China

We all know Trump downplayed the virus and eliminated the infrastructure and positions that would have dealt with a potential pandemic. The problem is he is not going to be take to task over his handling on this. Instead his approval ratings will probably go up because of the crisis.

The fact that his executive bumbling would get thousands of people killed was foreseeable from 2016. People obviously didn't care.

[Gray Lensman]

Were you also surprised when people chuckled when his neighbor beat the s*** out of him and put him in a hospital?

People aren't making jokes about this because Rand Paul is a Republican. Or a Libertarian. It's because he's a real ***hole.

But I can understand why you might not be able to see the nuance between that, considering Trump has turned the GOP's brand to, "Be an ***hole."

Speaking of the appearance of karma, it seems Harvey Weinstein has just been diagnosed as well.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

Be prepared for this to get much worse. Looking at where Italy and Germany are at, they aren’t even thinking of life going back to normal anytime soon, and this started much earlier for them. So any thoughts of this lasting a few weeks is highly optimistic.

This will probably go down as the big crisis of our lifetime.

[Tami]

Not really news, but an observation. I like to watch HGTV when I'm not watching the news or other programs. I just saw a public service type promo that showed most of the stars of HGTV programs at home, with their families and it just hit me how this Pandemic is affecting everyone. I can't explain it any better than that. Maybe it's just that, if we are all staying at home, you know they are as well. Everyone who is smart is doing it, regardless of their place in society.

It's kind of sobering.

[Tazirai]

Attachment 94737

Twitter Link

Jeezus, here they come. The religious will try to downplay this and make everything worse.

[Tazirai]

Why are New Yorkers being so godsdamned stubborn?

Coronavirus: New York governor scolds 'arrogant' people ignoring quarantine and warns crisis could last nine months
New York City ordered to disperse crowded spaces: 'How many times can you say you're being reckless and selfish?'

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

Why are New Yorkers being so godsdamned stubborn?

Coronavirus: New York governor scolds 'arrogant' people ignoring quarantine and warns crisis could last nine months
New York City ordered to disperse crowded spaces: 'How many times can you say you're being reckless and selfish?'

Because Americans are stupid and entitled we have a spineless government. We are heading towards a complete shutdown because people can’t control themselves and people will die because of it

[Tazirai]

"Trump administration proposes $7.1 billion funding cut to Education Department"

"Trump signs $738 billion defense bill: The $738 billion for 2020 represents a $21 billion increase over what Congress enacted in 2019."

"FACT SHEET: Republican Budget Cuts Education"

"The Republican conference agreement on the fiscal year 2016 budget resolution makes many cuts in support for education.

Guts investments — The budget agreement maintains the post-sequester non-defense discretionary funding cap for 2016, slashing the 2016 funding level by $37.3 billion below the comparable President's request. But after 2016, the cuts get worse. Over ten years, the budget cuts non-defense funding by $496 billion below the cap levels, leading to a 21 percent loss of purchasing power by 2025. In addition to the cuts shown for education programs, the budget has another $575 billion of unallocated discretionary cuts that could fall on education programs or any other non-defense program.

Effect on pre-K, elementary, and secondary education in 2016 – House Republicans have not yet produced their 2016 education funding bill but they have cut its allocation by $3.7 billion below last year's enacted level, and by $14.6 billion (8.7 percent) below the President's request. If cuts are spread proportionately under that allocation, the Administration estimates that the Republican funding bill will cut 46,000 children from Head Start, cut $1.3 billion from Title I, and cut $450 million from special education relative to the President's request.

Increases student debt — Even though student loan debt already exceeds $1.3 trillion – more than the total of all credit card debt – the conference agreement on the budget guts current policy support for higher education by about $200 billion over ten years.

Student loans – In total, the conference agreement cuts mandatory spending in the education function by almost as much as the House-passed budget. Although the agreement does not specify which higher education cuts it intends, the House budget made the following cuts:
o Eliminated in-school subsidies for student loans for needy undergraduates. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that this would add $3,800 to the debt of a student borrowing $23,000 in subsidized loans. Many students who get these subsidized loans also rely on Pell grants to pay for college. Eliminating subsidized loans cuts student support by $34 billion over ten years.

o Eliminated public service loan forgiveness which forgives borrowers' remaining balance owed on Direct Loans after working full time in public service and making 10 years of on-time payments. Eliminating the program will cut about $10 billion in student loan debt relief designed to help graduates afford to work in public service, including as teachers, law enforcement, or in military service or other government employment.

o Eliminated existing expansion of income-based repayment. This program generally caps the monthly repayment amount at 10 percent of the borrower's discretionary income for 20 years. Eliminating this program cuts about $16 billion from student debt relief efforts.

Pell grants – Section 6209 of the conference agreement makes it the policy of the House to freeze the maximum Pell grant for the next ten years, erasing the already-enacted inflationary increases that will raise the maximum grant by $225 by 2017. Congress already offset the cost of this increase and of maintaining it thereafter. The House budget made clear that it intended to eliminate all the mandatory funding Congress has already enacted for Pell grants, which eliminates nearly $85 billion in Pell grant aid over the next ten years.

College tax credits – The budget agreement lets the American Opportunity Tax Credit expire after next year, eliminating a $2,500 tax credit that helps more than 10 million low- and moderate-income students pay for college each year. Extending the tax credit costs $80 billion over ten years."

https://budget.house.gov/fact-sheet/...cuts-education

I went to HIgh School under Reagan and Bush and graduated under Clinton. The thing I can say is that there may have been cuts I was unaware of back then, but they just didn't seem to effect much. I mean even then My first job in High School was a nursing home making 7 bucks an hour and that was a lot of money. My mom with a Degree was making 12, and we lived great. The economy was doing great, prices were low, and inflation kept the middle class in the middle. Schools in Philly were funded, I mean a trip to France for a High School class ain't cheap. But they did it, and between that and growing up military, I saw the world through new eyes, and most of the High School friends I keep in touch with, still take their kids to new places and experiences.

Why do these people think cutting our kids future is a good thing?