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Quote of the day: "DOVER, Del. — Former U.S. Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell said Friday that a Federal Election Commission lawsuit accusing her of improper campaign expenditures is a 'witch hunt' and a waste of taxpayer dollars."
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Nov 20, 2015 20:31
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Mr Hootington posted:Sure after the senate confirms them. If the dems do not take the Senate it won't matter. Recess appointments would be great but I see the future 5-4 (or 5-3 if the justice can not serve of a lawsuit is filed against the appointment) voiding those. It's a possibility they'd refuse to confirm a replacement for a conservative but that would effectively provoke a constitutional crisis that kept firing up again after every 4-4 decision. I doubt they'd refuse the replacement of a liberal if they couldn't find a good reason to disqualify them.
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Nov 20, 2015 20:32
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Joementum posted:Quote of the day: "DOVER, Del. — Former U.S. Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell said Friday that a Federal Election Commission lawsuit accusing her of improper campaign expenditures is a 'witch hunt' and a waste of taxpayer dollars." Ahahhahahhahahaha at least she's keeping a sense of humor about it.
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Nov 20, 2015 20:33
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Joementum posted:Quote of the day: "DOVER, Del. — Former U.S. Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell said Friday that a Federal Election Commission lawsuit accusing her of improper campaign expenditures is a 'witch hunt' and a waste of taxpayer dollars." 
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Nov 20, 2015 20:33
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Really enjoying my governor kicking Mike Pence's teeth in right now:quote:Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy welcomed to his state Wednesday a family of Syrian refugees diverted from Indiana because of security concerns raised by Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. quote:Malloy told reporters Pence doesn't have legal authority to reject Syrian refugees. Yeah, it's smug as hell but I don't care. These people deserve to be shamed up and down for this poo poo.
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Nov 20, 2015 20:33
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BI NOW GAY LATER posted:Also that Bernie's political future has anything but defeat ahead. Oh please. He'll still be left in place in the Senate so that liberals can point to his floor speeches and talk about how much better everything would have been had he been nominated.
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Nov 20, 2015 20:34
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QuoProQuid posted:Your congressman never saw your letter. The response was almost certainly a template assembled weeks in advance, using the Congressman's public statements, and sent out by an unpaid intern, who made sure that there were no obvious copy issues. If you're looking for a personal response from your Representative or Senator, have you considered sending in a $2,000 check with your opinion?
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Nov 20, 2015 20:35
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Joementum posted:Quote of the day: "DOVER, Del. — Former U.S. Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell said Friday that a Federal Election Commission lawsuit accusing her of improper campaign expenditures is a 'witch hunt' and a waste of taxpayer dollars." I see she's chosen to go the Citizen Smith route to responding to a FEC letter. She's chosen...poorly.
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Nov 20, 2015 20:36
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evilweasel posted:It's a possibility they'd refuse to confirm a replacement for a conservative but that would effectively provoke a constitutional crisis that kept firing up again after every 4-4 decision. I doubt they'd refuse the replacement of a liberal if they couldn't find a good reason to disqualify them. Why in this current climate would a constitutional crisis be something the right would avoid? Why not have stalemate after stalemate? The right does not want a working Federal government if it is not doing what they want. I don't think it matters who the future judge is replacing. The nominee still has to have a simple majority from the Senate to be confirmed. If the Dems do not have 51 votes a Dem president will not be making any appointments that can get through. If they muck up the court they can just say they are stopping the "rogue justices" form being put on the court.
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Nov 20, 2015 20:44
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Fried Chicken posted:1) that isn't strange at all since his focus is on international macroeconomics, not domestic distribution 1) see, that's a distinction only his school would make 2) no, it just means he assigns a different priority. It does however make assertions his positive appraisal of clinton's proposal relative to whatever Bernie has is meritorious and weighty because of ~name~ wrong-ish A Winner is Jew posted:Yeah this. Bernie wants to drive them from congress too :/ Mr Hootington posted:Go one step further and just pull the R lever. At least things will get done for once! evilweasel posted:Hillary, by being President and able to appoint Supreme Court justices, can roll back some of the incredibly damaging rulings they've made in the past decade as well as avoid the possibility of RBG or Breyer being replaced by a Republican. And neither good justice in this hypothetical is getting through if the Senate can mount serious opposition.
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Nov 20, 2015 20:50
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Hey all, big time newbie to politics here. Which of the parties is the anti-war one right now?
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Nov 20, 2015 20:56
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Meg From Family Guy posted:Hey all, big time newbie to politics here. Which of the parties is the anti-war one right now? green
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Nov 20, 2015 20:56
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Meg From Family Guy posted:Hey all, big time newbie to politics here. Which of the parties is the anti-war one right now? Vote Rand Paul.
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Nov 20, 2015 21:02
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stephenfry posted:green They're fighting a war against science
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Nov 20, 2015 21:14
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This post is going to be long but contains important information about the refugee process. Background: I'm an attorney that has done a few dozen asylum, refugee, and U-Visa cases on a pro bono basis.. The refugee screening process is multi-layered and is very difficult to get through. Most people languish in temporary camps for months to years while their story is evaluated and checked, often through other official governmental agencies. First, a refugee does not get to choose what country they will be resettled to. If they already have family (legal) in a country, that makes it more likely that they will go to that country to be with that support structure. Other than that, it is random. So, you can not simply walk into a refugee camp, show a document, and say, I want to go to America. Instead, the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees) works with the local authorities to try to take care of basic needs. Once the person/family is registered to receive basic necessities, they can be processed for resettlement. Many refugees are not actually interested in permanent resettlement as they hope to return to their country and are hoping that the turmoil they fled will be resolved soon. In fact, most refugees in refugee events never resettle to a third country. Those that do want to resettle have to go through an extensive process to continually retain their temporary housing. Resettlement in the U.S. is a long process and takes many steps. The Refugee Admissions Program is jointly administered by the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) in the Department of State, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and offices within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) within DHS conducts refugee interviews and determines individual eligibility for refugee status in the United States. Each of these offices has to separately sign off on any refugee before they are admitted. The United States evaluates refugees on a tiered system with three levels of priority. First Priority are people who have suffered compelling persecution or for whom no other durable solution exists. These individuals are referred to the United States by UNHCR, or they are identified by the U.S. embassy or a non-governmental organization (NGO). Second priority are groups of “special concern” to the United States. The Department of State determines these groups, with input from USCIS, UNHCR, and designated NGOs. At present, we prioritize certain persons from the former Soviet Union, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Iran, Burma, and Bhutan. Third priority are relatives of refugees (parents, spouses, and unmarried children under 21) who are already settled in the United States may be admitted as refugees. The U.S.-based relative must file an Affidavit of Relationship (AOR) and must be processed by DHS. Before being allowed to come to the United States, each refugee must undergo an extensive interviewing, screening, and security clearance process conducted by Regional Refugee Coordinators and overseas Resettlement Support Centers (RSCs). Individuals generally must not already be firmly resettled (a legal term of art that would be a separate article). Just because one falls into the three priorities above does not guarantee admission to the United States. The Immigration laws require that the individuals prove that they have a “well-founded fear,” (another legal term which would be a book.) This fear must be proved regardless of the person’s country, circumstance, or classification in a priority category. There are multiple interviews and people are challenged on discrepancies. I had a client who was not telling the truth on her age (she wanted to be younger) and the agency challenged her on it and ultimately denied her admission even though there was no legal significance to the lie. Refugees are not simply admitted because they have a well founded fear. They still must show that they are not subject to exclusion under Section 212(a) of the INA. These grounds include serious health matters, moral or criminal matters, as well as security issues. In addition, they can be excluded for such things as polygamy, misrepresentation of facts on visa applications, smuggling, or previous deportations. Under some circumstances, the person may be eligible to have the ground waived but that adds time to the process. I have seen reports that potential refugees aren't fingerprinted or otherwise verified. This is comically misinformed. Some applicants are subjected to DNA swab screenings and blood tests (particularly if they are from Western Africa and run the risk of carrying communicable disease). I've never had an applicant make it through without some kind of fingerprint or biometric verification. After all of this, a refugee can be conditionally accepted for resettlement. Then, the RSC sends a request for assurance of placement to the United States, and the Refugee Processing Center (RPC) works with private voluntary agencies (VOLAG) to determine where the refugee will live. If the refugee does have family in the U.S., efforts will be made to resettle close to that family. Every person accepted as a refugee for planned admission to the United States is conditional upon passing a medical examination and passing all security checks. Frankly, there is more screening of refugees than ever happens to get on an airplane. Of course, yes, no system can be 100% foolproof. But if that is your standard, then you better shut down the entire airline industry, close the borders, and stop all international commerce and shipping. Every one of those has been the source of entry of people and are much easier ways to gain access to the U.S. Only upon passing all of these checks (which involve basically every agency of the government involved in terrorist identification) can the person actually be approved to travel. Before departing, refugees sign a promissory note to repay the United States for their travel costs. This travel loan is an interest-free loan that refugees begin to pay back six months after arriving in the country. Once the VOLAG is notified of the travel plans, it must arrange for the reception of refugees at the airport and transportation to their housing at their final destination. This process from start to finish averages 18 to 24 months, but I have seen it take years. The reality is that about half of the refugees are children, another quarter are elderly. Almost all of the adults are either moms or couples coming with children. Each year the President, in consultation with Congress, determines the numerical ceiling for refugee admissions. For Fiscal Year (FY) 2016, the proposed ceiling is 85,000. We have been averaging about 70,000 a year for the last number of years. (Source: Refugee Processing Center) Over one-third of all refugee arrivals (35.1 percent, or 24,579) in FY 2015 came from the Near East/South Asia—a region that includes Iraq, Iran, Bhutan, and Afghanistan. Another third of all refugee arrivals (32.1 percent, or 22,472) in FY 2015 came from Africa. Over a quarter of all refugee arrivals (26.4 percent, or 18,469) in FY 2015 came from East Asia — a region that includes China, Vietnam, and Indonesia. (Source: Refugee Processing Center) Finally, the process in Europe is different. I would be much more concerned that terrorists are infiltrating the European system because they are not nearly so extensive and thorough in their process. TL;DR: Everyone firing off "refugees are scary" flares don't know their hand from their rear end. EDIT: It has come to my attention that an attorney named "Scott Hicks" has publicly shared this same block of text originally found in a CLE packet produced by Bay Area Legal Aid. Original credit should go to the producers of this packet for most verbiage and all information contained therein. MonsieurLongDong fucked around with this message at 22:15 on Nov 20, 2015 |
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Nov 20, 2015 21:15
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What if Obama goes on TV and proposes that instead of the GOP solution, he wants to make a refugee admission process that takes 18-24 months, is incredibly stringent, goes through multiple agencies, and requires coordination with the UN. Give an example of how exacting his new procedure will be - a woman who lies about her age to appear younger is out. Emphasize that his new proposal will be significantly stricter than anything going on in Europe. Then when the Republicans say "that's what we already have!" all non-true-believers will go "oh! well, that's good!" and the issue is done. Edit: MonsieurLongDong A friend of mine just shared this almost word for word on facebook. Did you make this as a post at exactly 8:54am yesterday? Hellblazer187 fucked around with this message at 21:40 on Nov 20, 2015 |
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Nov 20, 2015 21:31
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MonsieurLongDong posted:Refugee Process Hey this was really interesting to read, thanks for the info. I've actually been kind of interested in how refugees sort of life their lives while here, or wherever they settle. Do you keep in contact with the people you help as a matter of course once they are resettled, or is that not part your job? Since they need to repay travel costs are they assisted in getting jobs or anything? What are they realistically capable of 'doing' as a refugee, is sort of what I want to know. Especially if they don't know any English or anything, are they in communities with other refugees who do speak their language? Sorry if these questions are kind of awkward, I'm just curious.
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Nov 20, 2015 21:42
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MonsieurLongDong posted:refugee lawyer It would at least help if you would cite the source for this post.
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Nov 20, 2015 21:45
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Meg From Family Guy posted:Hey all, big time newbie to politics here. Which of the parties is the anti-war one right now? Why do you ask, and how do you define 'anti-war'?
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Nov 20, 2015 21:47
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On Terra Firma posted:It would at least help if you would cite the source for this post. quote:Background: I'm an attorney that has done a few dozen asylum, refugee, and U-Visa cases on a pro bono basis.. It would help more if you read the post.
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Nov 20, 2015 21:48
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Meg From Family Guy posted:Hey all, big time newbie to politics here. Which of the parties is the anti-war one right now? That depends. Are you pro-some tangible alternative? I'm not trying to be snarky, or suggest that there aren't tangible alternatives or anything like that. It's just that the vast number of people in my orbit who've been riding the "just...no wars, man" train lately have nothing on offer beyond simply pretending that the Middle East doesn't exist and neither do our current politics.
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Nov 20, 2015 21:49
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MonsieurLongDong posted:Finally, the process in Europe is different. I would be much more concerned that terrorists are infiltrating the European system because they are not nearly so extensive and thorough in their process. UNHCR referred refugees are usually interviewed by security services or similar intelligence people before admission but the system is not anywhere near as multilayered and thorough as the American one. Probably because there's just not enough money or intelligence resources to do it in such a way. Asylum seekers are a whole different matter since they show up in person first and then have to be processed in the recipient country (this also skews the demographics because able-bodied men are best equipped to make the trip, and then hope for family reunification to bring the spouses and children over). The US doesn't quite have this issue since there's a thousand miles of ocean you'd need to cross compared to crossing over from Turkey or over the Med. For an assailant it's pointless to try to sneak your way in through the UNHCR resettlement process when you can be one of hundreds of thousands instead. Asylum seekers are fingerprinted, given an interview and then placed in centres to wait for a decision, and they're not exactly imprisoned so they can just wander off any time they wish. In Finland they are given money to go buy groceries to cook their own food with. As the astute reader may have guessed, fretting about terrorists using the UNHCR route to get into the US - or any country really - is histrionic.
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Nov 20, 2015 21:54
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Hellblazer187 posted:MonsieurLongDong A friend of mine just shared this almost word for word on facebook. Did you make this as a post at exactly 8:54am yesterday? Yeah I'm seeing it go around too. That would be 0654 PST. Either way, it looks like good information and is intended to be shared: https://www.facebook.com/BryanScottHicks/posts/1187326084630475?fref=nf&pnref=story Kaal fucked around with this message at 22:03 on Nov 20, 2015 |
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Nov 20, 2015 21:56
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Raerlynn posted:It would help more if you read the post. Qualifications aren't sources But I'm pretty sure this is the original source, or at least it has 168,000 shares and was posted yesterday morning
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Nov 20, 2015 21:56
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That would be really sad and weird if that was a cut and paste but good info overall. I used to coordinate the employment program for a refugee resettlement agency in one of the bigger American cities, and I'd be happy to answer any questions people may have.
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Nov 20, 2015 21:58
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Raerlynn posted:It would help more if you read the post. It's copied and pasted from a post on facebook. edit: beaten, but gently caress you.
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Nov 20, 2015 21:59
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MothraAttack posted:That would be really sad and weird if that was a cut and paste but good info overall. I used to coordinate the employment program for a refugee resettlement agency in one of the bigger American cities, and I'd be happy to answer any questions people may have. There's no reason Mr. Long Dong and Mr. Hicks can't be one in the same.
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Nov 20, 2015 22:01
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Hellblazer187 posted:
No. I suspect for some of this we cribbed from the same handbook published by a pro bono organization that does CLE classes. The middle paragraphs should be the same. If you're talking about a fellow attorney that's in the Ohio area, then I know who you're talking about. The community is small. Some of the stories here are different and I've added some other stuff for clarification. Some of these processes are absent in the U-Visa/T-Visa process because those are functional refugees that are already located in the states for some reason. I edited to clarify some of those differences. I've edited the initial post above to give credit to the primary source at the BAULA service who produced the CLE packet. MonsieurLongDong fucked around with this message at 22:16 on Nov 20, 2015 |
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Nov 20, 2015 22:02
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MothraAttack posted:That would be really sad and weird if that was a cut and paste but good info overall. I used to coordinate the employment program for a refugee resettlement agency in one of the bigger American cities, and I'd be happy to answer any questions people may have. If you don't mind me asking, this wasn't in Michigan by chance, was it? I know a girl who recently started refugee resettlement work up there.
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Nov 20, 2015 22:04
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My Imaginary GF posted:If you don't mind me asking, this wasn't in Michigan by chance, was it? I know a girl who recently started refugee resettlement work up there. Nah, Texas.
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Nov 20, 2015 22:09
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Rhesus Pieces posted:Really enjoying my governor kicking Mike Pence's teeth in right now: As a Hoosier, we're quite happy to see Pence get a good kicking, at least some of us They're about to pass an even worse and more comprehensive bill too BTW. Burn this state to the ground except Bloomington
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Nov 20, 2015 22:15
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Zionist shitrag The New Republic has a story  -ing about people comparing Syrian refugees to 30s-era Jewish refugeeshttps://newrepublic.com/article/124298/problem-comparing-syrian-jewish-refugees quote:The heated anti-immigrant talk from many European and American politicians in the aftermath of the Paris attacks has led those of us who find that response abhorrent to seek out strategies of our own. Things like, for example, reminding that the attackers were European. But the pro-refugee argument that seems to have stuck is the Holocaust analogy, which goes as follows: On the eve of the Holocaust, Americans held unfavorable opinions about Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany and elsewhere in Europe, which, as the punditry goes, is like Republican rhetoric on immigration. i'm the whining about Jews being brought into everything, right after a few paragraphs of "but what about US??????" icantfindaname fucked around with this message at 22:22 on Nov 20, 2015 |
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Nov 20, 2015 22:19
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icantfindaname posted:Zionist shitrag The New Republic has a story Jews in Europe were not responsible for the rise of Hitler; anti-semites were.
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Nov 20, 2015 22:20
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DoctorKill posted:Do you keep in contact with the people you help as a matter of course once they are resettled, or is that not part your job? Keep in mind this is pro bono so it's not really "part of my job." Usually the answer here is no. You rarely meet with the proposed applicant face-to-face because there are substantial language barriers. This is particularly true in trafficking cases where you're generally dealing with victims that have low education levels. Attorneys doing the work have contacts with NGOs that screen potential applicants and do the factual legwork and then put all that information into a packet for the attorney to work from. Those that I have met tended to be children of the original applicant and were applying for additional immigration status. Those children spoke English and could provide real-time go-between information for the applicant and speed the process up. I have one or two of those that occasionally e-mail me with pictures to let me know how they are doing. quote:Since they need to repay travel costs are they assisted in getting jobs or anything? To be honest, few of these loans are ever truly paid back in full. Most refugees end up in communities that are heavily foreign-cultured where they have substantial support networks and local outreach organizations dedicated to helping them find employment and housing.
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Nov 20, 2015 22:24
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My Imaginary GF posted:If you're looking for a personal response from your Representative or Senator, have you considered sending in a $2,000 check with your opinion? Actually I would receive fairly personal responses from Representative Rush Holt's office - but he lost to Booker in the primary.
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Nov 20, 2015 22:37
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I have regularly received real correspondence, but it helps that my family name is "known" in political circles.
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Nov 20, 2015 22:38
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icantfindaname posted:Zionist shitrag The New Republic Not since Chris Hughes bought it from Marty "gently caress arabs" Peretz
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Nov 20, 2015 22:38
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My Imaginary GF posted:Jews in Europe were not responsible for the rise of Hitler; anti-semites were. He's... not... wrong?
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Nov 20, 2015 22:44
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WhiskeyJuvenile posted:Not since Chris Hughes bought it from Marty "gently caress arabs" Peretz i know, i just thought it was funny. maybe a relapse?
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Nov 20, 2015 22:49
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So now you can get pulled off flights for speaking Arabic in the terminal and carrying a box of baklava because we live in 1936 Germany.
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Nov 20, 2015 22:50
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