Uncategorized

Created
Thu, 20/06/2024 - 08:00
Have you heard about this? I confess that I haven’t: Within weeks, the nation will deploy 9,000 people to begin restoring landscapes, erecting solar panels, and taking other steps to help guide the country toward a cleaner, greener future. The first of those workers were inducted into the American Climate Corps on Tuesday during a virtual event from the White House. Their swearing-in marks another step forward for the Biden administration’s ambitious climate agenda. The program, which President Joe Biden announced within days of taking office in 2021, is a modern version of the Climate Conservation Corps, the New Deal-era project that put 3 million men to work planting trees and building national parks. During the ceremony, the inaugural members of the corps promised to work “on behalf of our nation and planet, its people, and all its species, for the better future we hold within our sight.”  The American Climate Corps was among the first things Biden announced as president, but it took a while to secure funding and get started.
Created
Tue, 18/06/2024 - 09:30
First of all, what 23 year old buys a house? Maybe he’s got an inheritance? I would guess that very few 23 year olds are in this position. That’s not to say that there aren’t plenty of 33 year olds in that position but I have a sneaking suspicion this post isn’t on the up and up. Be that as it may, Surowecki is correct. Joe Biden doesn’t control interest rates and god knows, neither does Donald Trump. So this is stupid. But then there’s JD Vance’s grotesque answer to the problem. Deporting 20 million people (20 MILLION!!!!) is the most fascistic policy proposal we’ve seen since 1930s Germany. They were “deporting” the alleged cause of all their problems too. The sheer amount of pain, suffering and destruction involved in such a horrific policy is impossible to gauge but it’s going to be a nightmare. And as for the public picking up the tab for undocumented immigrants just wait until they see what inflation looks like without 20 million workers who are keeping this country running. Not to mention the vast cost incurred in rounding up such a vast number of people. It’s absurd. This is Nazi talk, nothing less.
Created
Tue, 18/06/2024 - 23:00
Courts are on your fall ballot Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida is perhaps the most notorious of Donald Trump’s judicial appointees. Her foot-dragging on the Trump classified documents case has doomed special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution from occurring before this fall’s election. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas “has become a go-to judge for parties filing lawsuits challenging President Joe Biden’s policies.” The U.S. Supreme Court just settled a case women’s rights opponents brought before Kacsmaryk to suspend the FDA’s approval of medication abortion. “The next president is likely to have two new Supreme Court nominees — two more. [Trump has] already appointed two that have been very negative in terms of the rights of individuals,” President Joe Biden told Jimmy Kimmel during a Los Angeles fundraiser over the weekend (CNN): “The idea that if he’s reelected he’s going to appoint two more flying flags upside down,” Biden said in an apparent reference to a flag that once flew outside the home of Justice Samuel Alito.
Created
Wed, 19/06/2024 - 00:30
He’s a convicted criminal. Make it stick. A high school friend was raised a good Southern Baptist. “We couldn’t cuss in the house,” he said. “Except you could say ‘damn yankee,’ because that’s just what they were.” The Biden campaign is taking that approach with Donald Trump: A convicted criminal is just what he is. Ankush Khardori, a senior writer for Politico Magazine, speaks with Greg Sargent about a Politico poll “with some pretty big surprises: A larger-than-expected percentage of Americans say Donald Trump’s criminal conviction in Manhattan makes them less likely to vote for him.” Politico: Thirty-three percent of respondents said that the conviction made them less likely to support Trump, while only 17 percent of respondents said that it made them more likely to support Trump. “Support” is one thing. Voting is another. Twenty-two percent of respondents said that the conviction is important to how they will vote and that it makes them less likely to support Trump.
Created
Wed, 19/06/2024 - 02:00
Project 2025 is hundreds of pages long and it’s difficult to get through. And that’s just for starters. There’s more in it every day. So this run-down by John Oliver is about as short and succinct and explanation possible. If you have a few minutes it’s well worth watching. You might want to have a drink handy…
Created
Wed, 19/06/2024 - 03:30
I mentioned this the other day but now it’s official. President Biden is announcing today that he will legalize the undocumented immigrant spouses of American citizens: President Biden on Tuesday is announcing a large-scale immigration program that will offer legal status and a streamlined path to U.S. residency and citizenship to roughly half a million unauthorized immigrants married to American citizens. The Department of Homeland Security policy will allow these immigrants to apply for work permits and deportation protections if they have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years and meet other requirements, senior administration officials said during a call with reporters. Perhaps most importantly, however, Mr. Biden’s move will unlock a path to permanent residency — colloquially known as a green card — and ultimately U.S. citizenship for many of the program’s beneficiaries.
Created
Wed, 19/06/2024 - 05:00
The Biden campaign has good reason to run ads drawing attention to Trump’s criminal conviction: President Joe Biden’s campaign had been restrained in its attacks on Donald Trump’s New York criminal conviction for weeks until the campaign said internal polling and focus groups showed the verdict turned off voters. The result, hitting TV sets across the country on Monday, was the campaign’s unleashing of its sharpest attack ad yet, depicting Trump as a “convicted criminal who’s only out for himself.” And the campaign says it’s just the start. Biden advisers say they plan to hammer Trump over the coming weeks — aiming to both set up a favorable narrative ahead of next week’s debate and keep Trump’s felony conviction top-of-mind for voters who haven’t yet fully tuned into the election. “We’ve seen in polling since the conviction that the more the conviction is front and center in voters’ attention, the worse it is for Trump,” said a Biden campaign pollster granted anonymity to describe internal polling because they were not authorized to do so publicly.
Created
Wed, 19/06/2024 - 06:30
Judd Legum writes about the factual disconnect on crime: According to the latest FBI data, violent crime and property crime are down sharply in 2024. The new data shows substantial drops in every category, including murder (-26.4%), rape (-25.7%), robbery (-17.8%), and property crime (-15.1%). These declines follow steep drops in violent crime and property crime in 2023.  And yet, according to a recent Gallup poll, “77% [of Americans] believe there is more crime in the U.S. than a year ago.” Why? There are two key factors. First, high-profile politicians are constantly making false claims about crime rates in the United States. For example, speaking at a Black church in Detroit last Saturday, former President Trump said the following: We’ll bring back public safety and defend our communities for law-abiding American citizens. The crime is most rampant right here in African American communities. And more people see me, and they say, “Sir, we want protection. We want the police to protect us.
Created
Wed, 19/06/2024 - 08:00
The hero worship of Donald Trump has reached new heights. It’s now Kim Jong Un level. Dan Morrison at USA Today writes: It’s the Summer of Trump in the House of Representatives, where Republican lawmakers have flooded the chamber with bills and resolutions honoring the former president, convicted felon and 2024 GOP frontrunner.  These largely symbolic gestures are a way to get noticed by the Republican powerhouse, who can make or break politicians with his endorsements, according to a former member of Congress. Earlier this month, Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., introduced a bill requiring the U.S. Treasury to start printing $500 bills again after 79 years, with the pricey legal tender now “featuring a portrait” of Trump in place of the late President William McKinley. Gosar said the proposal was meant to draw attention to high inflation under Joe Biden.  There’s cash, and then there’s gold.  In May, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., pushed a bill to award Trump the Congressional Gold Medal for his administration’s foreign policy successes.