Politics

[Irish#1]

My father in law took his own life less than a year ago. He was a good man, and one of my best friends. He was married, two children, one grandchild, retired at 55 without financial issues and was never diagnosed with any sort of psychologicial issues.

I watch my wife and mother in law search for answers I know they'll never find. It crushed all of us.

After his death, I started digging into suicide stats/causes and as this article suggests, it's not pleasant.



Agreed.

It strikes me as a sign that the current culture is not sustainable, and changes will be made by choice or force.

So sorry to hear that. I wonder if retiring at such a young age contributed to this?

 

[Irish#1]

Can we all just agree that Facebook is fvcking evil and stop beating around the bush.

But I need to know that little Suzy placed second in the 3rd grade spelling bee.

 

[NorthDakota]

But I need to know that little Suzy placed second in the 3rd grade spelling bee.

Facebook is for Boomers.

Lmao get on insta you losers.

 

[ACamp1900]

My father in law took his own life less than a year ago. He was a good man, and one of my best friends. He was married, two children, one grandchild, retired at 55 without financial issues and was never diagnosed with any sort of psychologicial issues.

I watch my wife and mother in law search for answers I know they'll never find. It crushed all of us.

After his death, I started digging into suicide stats/causes and as this article suggests, it's not pleasant.

.

Appreciate you sharing this Bill but equally sorry to hear it.

Facebook is for Boomers.

Lmao get on insta you losers.

I do IE for the giggles more than anything, I do Facebook because a previous job required me to do so and I later found it a great way to stay up with friends and family.... aside from that I don't really do the interwebs like most... (Though the Tudor Electric Football site is fire) I can't see myself getting into snaptweet anytime soon.

 

[Wild Bill]

So sorry to hear that. I wonder if retiring at such a young age contributed to this?

I considered it.

I believe the only role it may have played is that it gave him more time to think, and/or maybe he lost purpose. He played the role of provider for thirty plus years and maybe retirement made him realize that his family was financially self sufficient, with or without him.

He was happier after he retired so I do not believe "purpose" was the issue and he kept himself relatively busy with a part time job, hobbies, family etc. He did have more time to think and I suspect that didn't help. I really don't know. He was full of life the last day I saw him and two days later he lost his will to live.

 

[NorthDakota]

Appreciate you sharing this Bill but equally sorry to hear it.



I do IE for the giggles more than anything, I do Facebook because a previous job required me to do so and I later found it a great way to stay up with friends and family.... aside from that I don't really do the interwebs like most... (Though the Tudor Electric Football site is fire) I can't see myself getting into snaptweet anytime soon.

In an effort to keep my Facebook reasonable, I followed a friend's model for facebook. He only accepted friend requests/added friends under one condition.

Would he go to their funeral? He did create a few exemptions such as recent friends/classmates and attractive women from school.

I retroactively applied it as well and went from like 900 friends to about 250. I added another condition, people from home who had stupid hometown drama who blasted it all over facebook. I kept them around for the lolz. I will go up to a week now without checking it.

It's a poisonous website.

 

[Irish#1]

Facebook is for Boomers.

Lmao get on insta you losers.

I created a FB account when it first came out and quickly stopped using it. I have like 10 friends. I recently started using it to post articles for our work as we have integrated our marketing. I post and the marketing does the rest. Other than that, I don't use FB. I have the Twitter and SC accounts but do very little social media.

 

[ACamp1900]

I created a FB account when it first came out and quickly stopped using it. I have like 10 friends. I recently started using it to post articles for our work as we have integrated our marketing. I post and the marketing does the rest. Other than that, I don't use FB. I have the Twitter and SC accounts but do very little social media.

No way you have that many....

 

[Irish#1]

No way you have that many....

I really do, but I had to bribe 9 of them.

 

[Legacy]

With "moderate" Democrats like Obama, Clinton, Biden courting big financial institutions like Goldman, Blackstone and Black Rock who are investing or facilitating it overseas and with policies that would favor involvement in foreign wars and a commitment to Israel, the term neo-con is outdated especially when the Koch brothers are backing some moderate Dems vs Progressive candidates.

 

[Legacy]

In a 5-4 decision with the conservative justices in the majority, SCOTUS decided that the federal judges do not have the ability to curb the practice known as partisan gerrymandering. Specifically, SCOTUS ruled that the Democratic-controlled legislature gerrymandering in Maryland and Republican-controlled legislatures gerrymandering in North Carolina should be above judicial interpretation and oversight. Lawmakers who control state legislatures now have even more incentive to draw maps after the 2020 census that disadvantage the voting power of people who support the rival party.

Supreme Court rejects limits to partisan gerrymandering

Justice Kagan wrote the dissent.
‘Tragically Wrong’: 6 Brutal Lines from Justice Kagan’s Gerrymandering Dissent
the district court found were "adopted for the purpose of preserving the racial discrimination that tainted its previous maps."

- “The majority’s abdication comes just when courts across the country, including those below, have coalesced around manageable judicial standards to resolve partisan gerrymandering claims.”
- “Maybe the majority errs in these cases because it pays so little attention to the constitutional harms at their core. After dutifully reciting each case’s facts, the majority leaves them forever behind, instead immersing itself in everything that could conceivably go amiss if courts became involved.”
- “The majority’s idea instead seems to be that if we have lived with partisan gerrymanders so long, we will survive. That complacency has no cause. Yes, partisan gerrymandering goes back to the Republic’s earliest days. (As does vociferous opposition to it.) But big data and modern technology—of just the kind that the mapmakers in North Carolina and Maryland used—make today’s gerrymandering altogether different from the crude line-drawing of the past.”
- “For the first time in this Nation’s history, the majority declares that it can do nothing about an acknowledged constitutional violation because it has searched high and low and cannot find a workable legal standard to apply.”
- “n throwing up its hands, the majority misses something under its nose: What it says can’t be done has been done. Over the past several years, federal courts across the country—including, but not exclusively, in the decisions below—have largely converged on a standard for adjudicating partisan gerrymandering claims (striking down both Democratic and Republican districting plans in the process).”
- “Of all times to abandon the Court’s duty to declare the law, this was not the one. The practices challenged in these cases imperil our system of government. Part of the Court’s role in that system is to defend its foundations. None is more important than free and fair elections. With respect but deep sadness, I dissent.”

Last year, the Court ruled the Republican legislature's redrawing of legislative districts illegally disadvantaged only one district of those the District Court had ruled as discriminatory towards Hispanics and African-Americans. Justice Sotomayer wrote the dissenting opinion, saying, that the Texas legislature "adopted for the purpose of preserving the racial discrimination that tainted its previous maps."

"It means that, after years of litigation and undeniable proof of intentional discrimination, minority voters in Texas- despite constituting a majority of the population within the state- will continue to be underrepresented in the political process. Those voters must return to the polls in 2018 and 2020 with the knowledge that their ability to exercise meaningfully their right to vote has been burdened by the manipulation of district lines specifically designed to target their communities and minimize their political will."

 

[NorthDakota]

Hahaha watching dems lose their shit on twitter today is pure gold. Absolutely lovely.

 

[Rogue219]

Hahaha watching dems lose their shit on twitter today is pure gold. Absolutely lovely.

Just about sums it all up.

 

[Legacy]

In Alaska, the Governor can line-item veto the operating budget passed by the legislature. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy cut $444 million on Friday with 182 vetoes from the $8.7 billion state operating budget proposed by lawmakers. The biggest cut was to education from the U. of Alaska to pre-K programs, with other cuts health care including Medicaid, public safety, public assistance, municipal assistance, and others. Dunleavy also vetoed the legislature's transfer of some money in the Permanent Fund which would have protected it from being spent.

Here’s a list of Dunleavy’s line-item budget vetoes

Line item vetoes need 75% of the legislators' votes to overturn, which is doubtful.

As a result, the University has furloughed 2,500 employees.

In addition to the legislature's $70 million cut to Medicaid, Dunleavy cut $50 million. When Dunleavy proposed a cut of $249 million of Medicaid to the legislature this spring, health care officials warned that could result in a loss of 8-10,000 jobs. Health care has been one of the few sectors in Alaska showing growth.

Alaska Medicaid coverage statistics
Excerpt:

- Over 184,000 people in Alaska are covered by Medicaid. While eight in ten (80%) enrollees are children and adults, more than half (55%) of the state’s Medicaid spending is for the elderly and people with disabilities.
- 15,100 (21%) of Alaska’s Medicare enrollees are also covered by Medicaid, which accounts for over a quarter (27%) of Medicaid spending.
- 32% of all children in Alaska are covered by Medicaid, including 39% of children with special health care needs.
- 79% of nursing home residents in Alaska are covered by Medicaid and 32% of Medicaid long-term care spending in Alaska is for nursing home care. Medicare beneficiaries rely on Medicaid for assistance with services not covered by Medicare, particularly long-term care.

 

[Irish#1]

AOC fanning the flames. Extends offer to Women's US Soccer team to visit HoR. Rapinoe immediately accepts. Why can't we keep sports out of politics?

https://www.vox.com/2019/6/29/19953...e-us-womens-soccer-team-house-representatives

 

[NorthDakota]

AOC fanning the flames. Extends offer to Women's US Soccer team to visit HoR. Rapinoe immediately accepts. Why can't we keep sports out of politics?

https://www.vox.com/2019/6/29/19953...e-us-womens-soccer-team-house-representatives

The whole US women's soccer nonsense was a big miscalculation by them unless they are just extremely selfish. If you want to grow your game, you don't intentionally alienate people, particularly people in areas where the game can still grow.

My looney liberal aunt shared a picture of herself on facebook wearing a Rapinoe jersey and said it is "the anti-Maga hat." Thats....not what you want Team USA's jersey to represent. Our national teams and olympic athletes are supposed to be something we all can get around and support.

 

[Irish#1]

AOC says she felt unsafe around the Border Security staff and gets upset when they want to take a pic with her? She's the one looking for publicity to further her cause. Chides administration for the temporary living conditions, but forgets that: 1) It's not permanent, 2)Forgets that their temporary facilities are probably 5000% better than what they left.

Could things be improved, probably so but the U.S. didn't create this situation. I'm thinking if we built about 100 Holiday Inn Expresses along the border for the immigrants, AOC would still complain because Trump wasn't giving out reward points for their stays.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/01/politics/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-clint-texas-facility/index.html

 

[Irish#1]

Pretty good comments by Cuomo.

https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/ass...cuomo-closing-argument-07012019-small-169.jpg

 

[Legacy]

AOC says she felt unsafe around the Border Security staff and gets upset when they want to take a pic with her? She's the one looking for publicity to further her cause. Chides administration for the temporary living conditions, but forgets that: 1) It's not permanent, 2)Forgets that their temporary facilities are probably 5000% better than what they left.

Could things be improved, probably so but the U.S. didn't create this situation. I'm thinking if we built about 100 Holiday Inn Expresses along the border for the immigrants, AOC would still complain because Trump wasn't giving out reward points for their stays.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/01/politics/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-clint-texas-facility/index.html

Referred to in above article:
Inside the Secret Border Patrol Facebook Group Where Agents Joke About Migrant Deaths and Post Sexist Memes
The three-year-old group, which has roughly 9,500 members, shared derogatory comments about Latina lawmakers who plan to visit a controversial Texas detention facility on Monday, calling them “scum buckets” and “hoes.” (ProPublica)

First paragraphs:

Members of a secret Facebook group for current and former Border Patrol agents joked about the deaths of migrants, discussed throwing burritos at Latino members of Congress visiting a detention facility in Texas on Monday and posted a vulgar illustration depicting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ....... (deleted).... according to screenshots of their postings.

In one exchange, group members responded with indifference and wisecracks to the post of a news story about a 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant who died in May while in custody at a Border Patrol station in Weslaco, Texas. One member posted a GIF of Elmo with the quote, “Oh well.” Another responded with an image and the words “If he dies, he dies.”

Created in August 2016, the Facebook group is called “I’m 10-15” and boasts roughly 9,500 members from across the country. (10-15 is Border Patrol code for “aliens in custody.”) The group described itself, in an online introduction, as a forum for “funny” and “serious” discussion about work with the patrol. “Remember you are never alone in this family,” the introduction said.

Pretty disgusting. FB should delete the account and its members.

 

[NorthDakota]

Pretty disgusting. FB should delete the account and its members.

Why? There's a ton of social media pages that are rude. If you dont like it, dont look at it. They are harmless.

 

[Legacy]

Why? There's a ton of social media pages that are rude. If you dont like it, dont look at it. They are harmless.

Harmless? You read the article? The specifics? It violates FB numerous guidelnes. FB groups are allowed to post content that is only visible to members. Now that some member has allowed access to this group to a media, FB is aware of the violation of their standards. FB Guidelines

The Catholic response to the migrants deaths:

U.S. bishops join pope reacting to photos of drowned migrant father, child


The CBP has a problem it needs to root out.

 

[NorthDakota]

Harmless? You read the article? The specifics? It violates FB numerous guidelnes. FB groups are allowed to post content that is only visible to members. Now that some member has allowed access to this group to a media, FB is aware of the violation of their standards. FB Guidelines

The Catholic response to the migrants deaths:

U.S. bishops join pope reacting to photos of drowned migrant father, child


The CBP has a problem it needs to root out.

Yep. I read it. I'll adopt a Colonel Nathan Jessup stance on it. They are doing a job and that job requires hard men. The funny thing was her saying she was unsafe or in danger or whatever nonsense she said.

I dont really care if it violates Facebook guidelines, these guys have computers and phones. They'll share amusing content with their coworkers one way or another.

Regarding pictures of dead folks, where were those pictures when illegal immigrants got themselves killed pre-Donald?

 

[Legacy]

Yep. I read it. I'll adopt a Colonel Nathan Jessup stance on it. They are doing a job and that job requires hard men. The funny thing was her saying she was unsafe or in danger or whatever nonsense she said.

I dont really care if it violates Facebook guidelines, these guys have computers and phones. They'll share amusing content with their coworkers one way or another.

Regarding pictures of dead folks, where were those pictures when illegal immigrants got themselves killed pre-Donald?

I agree these are "hard men" doing a tough job and that those without a moral compass or have no sense of ethical behavior towards other humans may be significant part of CBP. Border Patrol has their standards for which these guys will be "held accountable".

Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Professional Responsibility Matthew Klein called the posts “disturbing” and acknowledged the Facebook group may consist of members of his agency. Klein further said:

“Today, U.S. Customs and Border Protection was made aware of disturbing social media activity hosted on a private Facebook group that may include a number of CBP employees. CBP immediately informed DHS Office of the Inspector General and initiated an investigation.”

US Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost blasted the Facebook group’s behavior, saying in a statement,

“These posts are completely inappropriate and contrary to the honor and integrity I see – and expect – from our agents day in and day out. Any employees found to have violated our standards of conduct will be held accountable.”

The National Border Patrol Council condemned the social media posts as "inappropriate and unprofessional." and

"I'm 10-15" (code for a person in custody), "is not representative of our employees and does a great disservice to all Border Patrol agents, the overwhelmingly majority of whom perform their duties honorably."

The union added that Escobar and Ocasio-Cortez should be treated with dignity and respect.

If I was their manager, I'd fire their asses and let them communicate through their computers and cell phones. They clearly have violated one of the primary responsibilities of an agent. If the CBP and the Office of Professional Responsibility do not follow a full analysis by the DHS Inspector General, cut their budget. Place raises on hold. Demote the offenders. Or put them in positions with little contact with migrants like inspection stations or desk jobs. They do not deserve to be in government positions which are accountable to the American people and to Congressional representatives and expected to hold to a standard. 9,500 members of the Facebook group? Out them all. With that many former or current agents, it's difficult not to consider this a culture within the CBP. They cannot be called patriots, great people who love their country. What would be appropriate is to investigate the race of the individuals in that 9,500. A slight majority of all agents are Hispanic. The CBP also has had difficulty in hiring and retaining women.

A judge had to issue an order to let physicians see the conditions in the camps. Congress can revoke the license of Southwest Key who are responsible for the care and treatment of those within the camps that have violated standards of care. The federal government can set up other camps in charge of the military if necessary.

 

[Irish#1]

Referred to in above article:
Inside the Secret Border Patrol Facebook Group Where Agents Joke About Migrant Deaths and Post Sexist Memes
The three-year-old group, which has roughly 9,500 members, shared derogatory comments about Latina lawmakers who plan to visit a controversial Texas detention facility on Monday, calling them “scum buckets” and “hoes.” (ProPublica)

First paragraphs:


Pretty disgusting. FB should delete the account and its members.

I believe there's an amendment that allows people to say what you want as long as you aren't threatening to kill or hurt someone. Will you start looking for all the other private FB groups that say something disgusting and ask to shut them down? Having said that, I agree it goes to far, but we do have freedom of speech.

AOC and all the others can say and do what they want, but anyone that doesn't agree with them can't? AOC also took the comment about "drinking from the toilet" and changed it to they were forced to drink from a toilet. Are you upset about her lying?

To me it's much ado about nothing when it comes to the actual operations of the facilities.

 

[Irish#1]

They cannot be called patriots, great people who love their country.

They were a lot of criminals and criminal types that fought in WWII. They were as patriotic as the next guy.

 

[NorthDakota]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

This post is beyond parody.

"Fire them all" - yeah...fire what is possibly half of all CBP employees. Yep. Fire them from the government. <---notoriously difficult to get canned there.

"Out them all" - lmaooooooooo what in the actual fuck.

"They cant be Patriots who love their country!" - I dont really think you are in a position to tell these guys if they love their country or not. I'm sure some are more invested in America than others.

"Investigate the race of the 9500 members." Why?

"CBP has trouble hiring and retaining women" - well lets look at the job they do and think about that for all of one minute and we might get a few ideas as to why.

The best part of your big rant...you know who gets hit the hardest by your suggestions? The people in those cells.

 

[zelezo vlk]

I've got a friend who lives in South Texas; very nice girl, gonna be a nun. She has nothing nice to say about the Border Patrol. Think of all the jock cop stereotypes you've heard and roll them all into one, and that's the border patrol.

 

[ACamp1900]

I've got a friend who lives in South Texas; very nice girl, gonna be a nun. She has nothing nice to say about the Border Patrol. Think of all the jock cop stereotypes you've heard and roll them all into one, and that's the border patrol.

I don't doubt it... though I have met three members of the El Paso area border patrol since being here... all very patriotic, very nice and kind of old school. My father in law has also volunteered with them a bunch of times and he's the nicest guy ever. Who knows...

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I've got a friend who lives in South Texas; very nice girl, gonna be a nun. She has nothing nice to say about the Border Patrol. Think of all the jock cop stereotypes you've heard and roll them all into one, and that's the border patrol.

Millions of socially-conservative Catholics are migrating north to escape hellish conditions we helped create through NAFTA, and the American rightwing's instinct is to describe them as invaders, imprison them at the border, and otherwise promote hostility toward them. If the GOP moved a bit more populist on economic issues and reached out to Hispanics, they'd never lose another election. But they'd apparently rather court woke capital, so I expect them to keep punching themselves in the dick on this issue.

 

[Legacy]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

This post is beyond parody.

"Fire them all" - yeah...fire what is possibly half of all CBP employees. Yep. Fire them from the government. <---notoriously difficult to get canned there.

"Out them all" - lmaooooooooo what in the actual fuck.

"They cant be Patriots who love their country!" - I dont really think you are in a position to tell these guys if they love their country or not. I'm sure some are more invested in America than others.

"Investigate the race of the 9500 members." Why?

"CBP has trouble hiring and retaining women" - well lets look at the job they do and think about that for all of one minute and we might get a few ideas as to why.

The best part of your big rant...you know who gets hit the hardest by your suggestions? The people in those cells.

Going back to "lmaooooooooo" and "This post is beyond parody" and "your big rant" and "I dont really think you are in a position to tell these guys if they love their country or not". Can't help yourself, eh? And here I thought we were just exchanging our differing opinions.

I imagine the job description includes "other duties as necessary". It sounds like toilet duties, diaper changing, hauling clean water and laundry are needed. Mop a few floors. Wash the walls. CBP has been reported to be turning down donations of soap, diapers, toys and other supplies as well as denying access until a court order. A bill is in the Texas legislature allowing donations of diapers, other goods to migrant kids in Border Patrol facilities. Pretty sad that DHS is not requiring a basic level of care and CBP is going to need judicial orders or state laws passed to meet those standards. Arizona almost denied a license to one agency with multiple facilities in their state. If necessary, states need to pass appropriate laws allowing state oversight. Issue notices of violations.