US CE Spring 2022: I'm convinced it's useless which is why I argue about it all day every day

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > US CE Spring 2022: I'm convinced it's useless which is why I argue about it all day every day

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virtualboyCOLOR: Dec 22, 2004

Meatball posted:

They're falling into the trap Obama did and think the Republicans are honest actors that respond to reality.

They will keep title 42 and the Republicans will act like it's repealed and say "Joe Biden is letting illegals stream over the border!". Which is the same thing they'd do if he repealed it.

They're pissing off their voters in another losing gambit to appease Republicans.

This isn�t a �trap� but the actual desired outcome by Dems and they are using the election as cover to pretend it isn�t (like they always do). Otherwise they would have repealed title 42 from the get go.

It�s helpful to start thinking of Dems as willing participants in human rights abuse instead of well-meaning idiots.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 12:38

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# ? May 23, 2024 08:08

Bishyaler: Dec 30, 2009; Megamarm

virtualboyCOLOR posted:

This isn�t a �trap� but the actual desired outcome by Dems and they are using the election as cover to pretend it isn�t (like they always do). Otherwise they would have repealed title 42 from the get go.

It�s helpful to start thinking of Dems as willing participants in human rights abuse instead of well-meaning idiots.

The only trap is believing that a party can repeatedly do evil but be forgiven because they expressed regret about it being their most pragmatic option.

Well meaning idiots is immediately debunked by Dems expansion of the immigrant concentration camps and eager acceptance of Ukrainian Refugees while Central American refugees who were waiting longer were held back. Immigration policy right now is the closest thing to the Family Guy skin color meme without explicitly stating it.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 14:13

Baronash: Feb 29, 2012; So what do you want to be called?

BIG-DICK-BUTT-gently caress posted:

do we really have to shoehorn American history into algebra homework? It's not a 'big deal' but it just seems weird & clunky to me, is there a benefit to combining unrelated subjects like this?

Who is we? This is one pretty dumb assignment that someone threw up on some teaching materials marketplace.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 14:35

Willa Rogers: Mar 11, 2005

Meatball posted:

They're falling into the trap Obama did and think the Republicans are honest actors that respond to reality.

They will keep title 42 and the Republicans will act like it's repealed and say "Joe Biden is letting illegals stream over the border!". Which is the same thing they'd do if he repealed it.

They're pissing off their voters in another losing gambit to appease Republicans.

1. Dems are not naive, nor overly kind in giving the GOP the benefit of the doubt, nor was Obama.

2. When the option is to move left or to move right when their numbers are in the tank, they will almost always choose to move further right, bc the right validates & reinforces the neoliberalism underlying the party's platform & positions whereas the left challenges it & offers systemic change that undermines those things.

3. Dems' lifeblood is being out of power: It's when they do their best fundraising & it's when they pass one-house legislation in Congress that actually benefits voters. It's when they can rouse people to march for all the things they purport to support while wearing pink pussy hats without having to do politically icky things like pass laws enshrining women's right to bodily autonomy.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 14:48

hemorrhage: Aug 7, 2003

It seems like the photo in the original tweet was altered

https://twitter.com/brenda_a61/status/1516027218132185088/photo/1

# ? Apr 20, 2022 14:52

Baronash: Feb 29, 2012; So what do you want to be called?

hemorrhage posted:

It seems like the photo in the original tweet was altered

https://twitter.com/brenda_a61/status/1516027218132185088/photo/1

Nah, this is just a newer version of the same assignment. The guy who sells these lessons has a statement about it on his website.

quote:

UPDATE: It has come to our attention that a leading candidate for president�s team has Tweeted out a resource that was published under our previous company. The content was edited and removed 8 years ago. Why or how it is recirculating now is unclear. When I was still a classroom teacher 10 years ago, I was concurrently teaching Algebra 1 and a seminar on Human Trafficking at the new International High School. Ohio is hub of human trafficking and 1 in 5 girls are victims of sexual assault prior to the age of 18. In collaboration, with local human trafficking organizations they sought to destigmatize sexual abuse, create awareness, and deromanticize words like �pimp�. Additionally, the International school hoped we could infuse more international content throughout their curriculum. Generally, this meant I as the math teacher created deep dives with international data or international issues, but we also created Person Puzzles and Adventure activities to help do this. This Maya Angelou worksheet is an example of a quick surface level infusion, and I wrote 300 �Person Puzzles� about different people as a quick practice activity. In this particular case it was paired with Systems of Equations which is a topic encountered by 14-16 year old students � students that are the prime age to be victims (or perpetrators) of sexual violence.

As you might appreciate, today things are weird. I wrote this in a time, when not everything was political. Given the successful response in my own classroom, I did share it online with a mature content disclaimer and a short description of how I would use it. This was in no way ever mandated to be used by anyone � and quite honestly that�s not how schools work. 8 years ago I decided that it would be difficult for teachers to effectively use that particular resource without the additional context I had, so I removed that content. The original company was purchased, and later I reacquired some brands and assets. My wife and I have also had 4 more kids. A lot has happened in 8 years. Today, we�ve grown as a business beyond our wildest dreams � because our innovative activities and resources engage students like few other companies. My team�s experiences in and around education helps ensure that not only do all of our resources hit the mark, but teachers are empowered to use them effectively. Unlike many large curriculum publishers, our team does not avoid difficult topics, but we approach them with exceeding care. A twist of irony is that a couple Florida schools have reached out about our Financial Literacy projects to meet their new state standard because they think they are some of the �best in they�ve found� � because they are.

In any event, it�s unclear to me how this is an example of the buzzy new term �Critical Race Theory�. Yes, Maya Angelou is black. In that case, we will admit to having Person Puzzles of many black people. This also includes former Republican Presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson who 25 years ago was gracious enough with his time to give an opinion on my future wife�s pediatric brain tumor. Thank you Dr. Carson, Dr. Kosnik did a great job. Though she was only given a 1% chance to live, and likely would never be able to have kids � she�s now had 6. One thing we joke about in our marriage, is she never causes me problems other than the Maya Angelou worksheet � because she�s actually the one that wrote this particular activity that becomes interesting every few years.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 15:00

BIG-DICK-BUTT-FUCK: Jan 26, 2016; by Fluffdaddy

Baronash posted:

Who is we? This is one pretty dumb assignment that someone threw up on some teaching materials marketplace.

We is anyone, i assume this kinda thing isn�t a one-off assignment. Not talking about the content or any �CRT� talking points, but haphazardly combining any two subjects in one worksheet is clunky. If kids learn better this way fine, but otherwise it�s just a dumb format

E: ok saw the real assignment, nvrmind

# ? Apr 20, 2022 15:01

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

hemorrhage posted:

It seems like the photo in the original tweet was altered

https://twitter.com/brenda_a61/status/1516027218132185088/photo/1

You think Ron DeSantis' press secretary would just lie like that on the internet?

The actual story, so far, is about five different levels of confusing/misleading/truth. What we do know:

1) The worksheet she shared was actually used in a school in 2017 and another in 2021.

2) The worksheet is a modified form of a different worksheet (in the second tweet) that does not include those questions. The modified version came from a company that dissolved 8 years ago and was part of a senior seminar on human trafficking and sexual assault in history; not a math class.

3) The modified worksheet, in the two cases it was taught outside of the human trafficking class, came from a website where teachers can upload and download their own lessons for students and some teacher downloaded this version in 2017 and handed it out to her class.

4) The modified version has never been a part of any textbook and wasn't part of any of the books Florida rejected for "CRT" reasons.

So, she is right that those problems were actually taught to students outside of the human trafficking/sexual assault seminar. But, it only ever happened twice:

- Once, with 27 students five years ago in Pennsylvania.
- The second time, was also a single class in Missouri of 18 students in 2021.

Both times, they were a teacher downloading it from the website and not part of an actual textbook or curriculum.

Also, none of that has anything to do with Florida and isn't an example of a real thing in textbooks.

Leon Trotsky 2012 fucked around with this message at 15:10 on Apr 20, 2022

# ? Apr 20, 2022 15:02

BIG-DICK-BUTT-FUCK: Jan 26, 2016; by Fluffdaddy

Baronash posted:

Nah, this is just a newer version of the same assignment. The guy who sells these lessons has a statement about it on his website.

Not an educator but idk about spreading awareness of sexual trafficking via math worksheets. Good intentions but odd execution

# ? Apr 20, 2022 15:04

Heck Yes! Loam!: Nov 15, 2004; a rich, friable soil containing a relatively equal mixture of sand and silt and a somewhat smaller proportion of clay.

It's like someone pulled a chic tract and said "look at what they're teaching in schools!"

Also, doesn't the text defeat the purpose of actually knowing the math when the alternate answer is obvious?

# ? Apr 20, 2022 15:09

Lib and let die: Aug 26, 2004

I'm so glad that my wife only ever has to teach letter sounds and tactile exploration.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 15:11

haveblue: Aug 15, 2005; Toilet Rascal

Heck Yes! Loam! posted:

It's like someone pulled a chic tract and said "look at what they're teaching in schools!"

Also, doesn't the text defeat the purpose of actually knowing the math when the alternate answer is obvious?

The sheet in the "actual lesson" tweet says the students are expected to know the math but not the life facts

# ? Apr 20, 2022 15:18

Heck Yes! Loam!: Nov 15, 2004; a rich, friable soil containing a relatively equal mixture of sand and silt and a somewhat smaller proportion of clay.

haveblue posted:

The sheet in the "actual lesson" tweet says the students are expected to know the math but not the life facts

That makes more sense.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 15:22

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

The federal government is bribing states and nuclear power plant operators to keep their nuclear power plants open.

Even with the bribes and bailouts, most of them are still expected to close because of a combination of the mass availability of cheap natural gas, successful environmental activist campaigns to defund or close nuclear power plants and shift the money to solar power and battery research, and state/local providers rejecting nuclear power because the kilowatt/hour cost is generally higher than coal or natural gas due to the higher labor costs associated with staffing a nuclear power plant vs. a coal plant.

This is one area where I am still baffled that major environmental groups are spending their time and money to shut down. California is still planning on closing their last remaining nuclear power plant in 2025.

New York, Massachusetts, Iowa, and Nebraska have also closed or are planning to close their nuclear power plants.

Illinois is keeping theirs open, but "temporarily" until they can fully replace it with other low carbon and cheaper energy sources.

Georgia is the only state in the U.S. with plans to build a new nuclear power plant.

https://twitter.com/AP/status/1516517025354559497

quote:

Biden launches $6B effort to save distressed nuclear plants

WASHINGTON (AP) � The Biden administration is launching a $6 billion effort to rescue nuclear power plants at risk of closing, citing the need to continue nuclear energy as a carbon-free source of power that helps to combat climate change.

A certification and bidding process opened Tuesday for a civil nuclear credit program that is intended to bail out financially distressed owners or operators of nuclear power reactors, the U.S. Department of Energy told The Associated Press exclusively, shortly before the official announcement. It�s the largest federal investment in saving financially distressed nuclear reactors.

quote:

�U.S. nuclear power plants contribute more than half of our carbon-free electricity, and President Biden is committed to keeping these plants active to reach our clean energy goals,� Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement. �We�re using every tool available to get this country powered by clean energy by 2035, and that includes prioritizing our existing nuclear fleet to allow for continued emissions-free electricity generation and economic stability for the communities leading this important work.�

A strong majority of states � about two-thirds � say nuclear, in one fashion or another, will help take the place of fossil fuels. A dozen U.S. commercial nuclear power reactors have closed in the past decade before their licenses expired, largely due to competition from cheaper natural gas, massive operating losses due to low electricity prices and escalating costs, or the cost of major repairs.

This has led to a rise in emissions in those regions, poorer air quality and the loss of thousands of high-paying jobs, dealing an economic blow to local communities, according to the DOE. A quarter or more of the fleet is at risk, the DOE added. The owners of seven currently operating reactors have already announced plans to retire them through 2025.

Most U.S. nuclear plants were built between 1970 and 1990 and it�s costing more to operate an aging fleet. The only nuclear plant under construction in the United States is in Georgia. Costs have ballooned and another delay was announced in February.

quote:

The shuttered reactors include Indian Point Energy Center in New York, Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts, Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station in Nebraska and Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa. Entergy cited low natural gas prices and increased operating costs as key factors in its decision to close Indian Point last year. New York officials sought the shutdown, saying the plant 24 miles (39 kilometers) north of Manhattan posed too great a risk to millions of people who live and work nearby.

Twenty more reactors faced closure in the last decade before states stepped in to save them, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry�s trade association. Illinois is spending nearly $700 million to keep three plants open while additional renewable resources come online.

Low electricity prices are the main cause of this trend, though federal and state policies to boost wind and solar have contributed as well, the NEI added.

There are 55 commercial nuclear power plants with 93 nuclear reactors in 28 U.S. states. Nuclear power already provides about 20% of electricity in the U.S., or about half the nation�s carbon-free energy.

If reactors do close before their licenses expire, fossil fuel plants will likely fill the void and emissions will increase, which would be a substantial setback, said Andrew Griffith, acting assistant secretary for nuclear energy at DOE.

quote:

The Sierra Club has a nuclear free campaign that says nuclear is not a solution to climate change, and �every dollar spent on nuclear is one less dollar spent on truly safe, affordable and renewable energy sources.�

quote:

California is slated to close its last remaining nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon, in 2025. Officials there think they can replace it with new solar, wind and battery storage resources, though skeptics have questioned whether California�s all-in renewable plan can work in a state of nearly 40 million people.

Maria Korsnick, president and chief executive officer of NEI, said she thinks the federal program will level the playing field for nuclear energy and help clear a path to pass even more intensive policies, such as a nuclear production tax credit proposed in Biden�s now-stalled Build Back Better plan.

Democrats have said they hope to resuscitate parts of the social and environmental package and win over voters weary of the two-year-old pandemic and coping with the worst inflation in decades.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 16:31

BiggerBoat: Sep 26, 2007; Don't you tell me my business again.

Willa Rogers posted:

1. Dems are not naive, nor overly kind in giving the GOP the benefit of the doubt, nor was Obama.

2. When the option is to move left or to move right when their numbers are in the tank, they will almost always choose to move further right, bc the right validates & reinforces the neoliberalism underlying the party's platform & positions whereas the left challenges it & offers systemic change that undermines those things.

3. Dems' lifeblood is being out of power: It's when they do their best fundraising & it's when they pass one-house legislation in Congress that actually benefits voters. It's when they can rouse people to march for all the things they purport to support while wearing pink pussy hats without having to do politically icky things like pass laws enshrining women's right to bodily autonomy.

1. I honestly think that Obama was naive to a large extent. He even spoke about "why won't republicans vote for their own ideas?" a few times and often seemed to think that if he started with the compromise first, it would speed up and help the process. Could be it's me who's naive though and most of it was theater but I don't think so. Obama seemed genuinely surprised, disappointed and flabbergasted at a lot of the poo poo that came his way and he seemed in over his head a lot

2. Which is just loving amazing and continues to frustrate me. Poll after poll after poll shows the democrats losing support primarily with what should be their base which they seem to really consistently take for granted. I'm not like some posters here who think that the democrats are in on it and honestly desire fascistic right wing policy and outcomes. I just think they're spineless, old, out of touch, dug in and too focused on manners and decorum most of the time. The old guard seems openly hostile to the young up and comers who they view as a threat to their power, outright call them too idealistic and, for the ultimate punchline, blame them for why negotiations fail when the fact is that we should START with super far left legislation and then compromise and make deals from there.

3. Which leads us to this where the GOP delivers on their horrible promises and plays to their monstrous base while the democrats ignore, chastise and ridicule theirs every time the manage to wring power from the horrible alternative. Instead of running on who we are and what we believe, we only gain wins when the other side is Just That Awful but "We're Not the Other Guy" is no sort of long term winning strategy at all.

People in general and democratic voters specifically support left leaning laws like M4A, legal weed, etc. etc. and all sorts of poo poo like that but the GOP caters strongly to their base and winds up with rabid, rick solid and downright slavish support for anyone with an R next to their name while they rewrite election laws and ban abortions and schoolbooks. The GOP base tends to get genuinely EXCITED with their candidates for the most part, so long as they remain sufficiently insane and evil.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 16:37

virtualboyCOLOR: Dec 22, 2004

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

This is one area where I am still baffled that major environmental groups are spending their time and money to shut down.

quote:

The Sierra Club has a nuclear free campaign that says nuclear is not a solution to climate change, and �every dollar spent on nuclear is one less dollar spent on truly safe, affordable and renewable energy sources.�

This is the height of not understanding of the importance of �ends justify the means�. These short sighted environmentalists are too focused on the means that the ends is they doomed the planet. They are 100% culpable just like the fossil fuel industry.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 16:38

Heck Yes! Loam!: Nov 15, 2004; a rich, friable soil containing a relatively equal mixture of sand and silt and a somewhat smaller proportion of clay.

California closing Diablo canyon is one of the most unforced self-inflicted wounds imaginable. There's no replacement capacity, and they will require fossil fuel plants to make up the demand, probably mostly methane. it's unbelievably stupid. just refurb the drat reactors and tax google and apple slightly to pay for it you fucks.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 16:41

haveblue: Aug 15, 2005; Toilet Rascal

Can we move forward on Yucca Mountain now that the main obstacle to it is gone?

# ? Apr 20, 2022 16:44

Heck Yes! Loam!: Nov 15, 2004; a rich, friable soil containing a relatively equal mixture of sand and silt and a somewhat smaller proportion of clay.

haveblue posted:

Can we move forward on Yucca Mountain now that the main obstacle to it is gone?

Nope

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucca_Mountain_nuclear_waste_repository posted:

In May 2021, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said that Yucca Mountain would not be part of the Biden administration's plans for nuclear-waste disposal. She anticipated announcing the department's next steps "in the coming months".[18]

# ? Apr 20, 2022 16:50

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

haveblue posted:

Can we move forward on Yucca Mountain now that the main obstacle to it is gone?

Not for a while.

Trump flipped and started dismantling it before the 2020 election:

quote:

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he opposes the long-delayed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada, reversing his policy on a project on which the United States has spent billions of dollars over decades but never opened.

On Thursday, however, Trump wrote on Twitter: �Nevada, I hear you on Yucca Mountain and my Administration will RESPECT you!�

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...p-idUSKBN20101J

And Biden stopped the dismantling, but has promised Senator Cortez Masto that they wouldn't make any permanent decisions on it until after her re-election campaign this year. And they guaranteed that it would not be part of their initial nuclear policy, so it will likely stay in limbo.

quote:

Escape From Yucca Mountain: Biden Administration Promises Progress on Nuclear Waste

Energy Department expects to announce next steps in coming months

THE ENERGY DEPARTMENT TAKES ON the politically radioactive issue of nuclear-waste disposal, which the past several administrations have tried and failed to resolve. The only federally designated long-term disposal site for waste from the nuclear power industry is at Yucca Mountain in Nevada (there is also a site near Carlsbad, N.M., for waste generated by the government�s nuclear weapons program). But sustained political pushback from Nevada officials has prevented the Yucca Mountain site from becoming operational. It�s a top issue for Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who Mr. Biden considered picking as his running mate and who is up for re-election next year.

Ms. Cortez Masto has extracted promises from Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm that Yucca Mountain won�t be part of the administration�s planning for nuclear-waste disposal.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/escape-from-yucca-mountain-biden-administration-promises-progress-on-nuclear-waste-11620984602

# ? Apr 20, 2022 16:55

virtualboyCOLOR: Dec 22, 2004

Heck Yes! Loam! posted:

Nope

Meanwhile the air and oceans are perfectly fine dumping grounds.

If I wasn�t already aware of how immoral neoliberals and their supporters are I would start to wonder if these �environmentalists� were in bed with the fossil industries they claim to work against.

(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

# ? Apr 20, 2022 16:56

Harold Fjord: Jan 3, 2004

The fossil fuel industries have long funded anti-nuclear activities, yes.

Never stop thinking about all those hippies who kept telling me a giant wave of radiation from Fukushima was about to poison the entire West Coast.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 17:17

Willa Rogers: Mar 11, 2005

Wired has a piece up about the fake federal agents:

quote:

TWO WEEKS AFTER FBI agents surged through a luxury apartment building in Washington, DC, and arrested two men who allegedly spent years pretending to be Homeland Security officers, the case continues to baffle even some of the nation�s most experienced counterintelligence experts. Did US investigators stumble onto an Iranian assassination plot or a case of two bozos whose alleged cosplay went horribly wrong?

***

Attorneys for Ali and Taherzadeh have characterized the case against their clients as �preposterous� and pushing �the wild conspiracy theories.� Meanwhile, the judge overseeing the case, Magistrate Judge Michael Harvey, last week refused the Justice Department�s request to keep the two suspects in jail and downplayed the events, saying there was no evidence that classified information was compromised. Harvey added that �there is no evidence of foreign ties in this case.� But counterintelligence experts say there�s plenty of reason to suspect that the two men weren�t operating on their own�even as the defendants� alleged behavior was so brazen and bizarre that it seems hard to imagine they were the vanguard of a sophisticated plot.

Most of all, though, the case underscores vulnerabilities to foreign influence in the shadowy and sprawling law enforcement community in Washington, DC, where 17 national intelligence agencies; dozens of private, local, state, and federal police departments; and hundreds of military contractor firms all mix amid an environment that prizes personal ambition and professional networking.

***

As new details have emerged, the case has only grown stranger. The pair had allegedly all but taken control of the luxury apartment building where they apparently lived, known as Crossing DC. Investigators claim the two men had befriended the building�s security personnel, knew the master access codes for the building�s entries and elevators, flashed their badges to other residents, and amassed lists of their fellow occupants, some of whom were federal law enforcement agents.

Investigators say Taherzadeh and Ali had even been handing out �free� apartments to real federal agents; Taherzadeh allegedly told one uniformed Secret Service officer that he could live rent-free in a three-bedroom apartment in the building�a rent valued at $48,000 per year in court documents�because they had �extra rooms� as part of one of their operations. Another witness, who worked with DHS�s Homeland Security Investigations, reported seeing in Taherzadeh�s apartment �a significant amount of law enforcement paraphernalia, including SWAT vests, a large safe, computers, a high-powered telescope, and internal surveillance cameras.� Others claimed that Taherzadeh had numerous weapons and regularly carried a Glock 19 pistol and that he gifted federal officers all manner of items, including a drone and a TV. At one point, he allegedly offered to purchase a $2,000 assault rifle for a Secret Service agent who worked on Jill Biden�s protective detail.

At another point, the men allegedly tried to recruit a third individual to join their �DHS task force.� Prosecutors claim they shot the recruit with an Airsoft rifle to �evaluate their pain tolerance.� They also allegedly assigned the individual to conduct research on someone who worked with the Department of Defense and intelligence community.

The FBI investigation was barely two weeks old when the Secret Service accidentally tipped off the suspects and spurred their quick arrests. According to court records, searches of the suspects� apartments and vehicles yielded firearms, law enforcement training manuals, computers, and boxes of police paraphernalia, from patches to tactical vests, along with documents pointing to false names and other fake identities.

***

The FBI has sole jurisdiction in the United States over counterintelligence cases, which are typically among the most complex�and slowest�agents investigate. Such cases, in fact, rarely end with criminal charges and a public trial. They often unfold over years and can rely on classified tools like powerful FISA warrants that are specifically designed for such work, with a focus on how agents can neutralize a foreign intelligence asset without attracting public notice. The FBI followed the Russian �illegals� case for the better part of a decade before finally moving to arrest the spies.

The investigation into Taherzadeh and Ali was in its earliest stages when the accidental tip forced agents to act�haste that apparently means the government wasn�t able to understand the scope of their activity.

�This case was clearly taken down prematurely�the public probably doesn�t realize how much this case wasn�t ready for prime time,� says a former prosecutor who focused on such cases and asked to speak anonymously because he wasn�t authorized by his current employer to comment publicly. �It seems like the federal government doesn�t have a theory of the case.�

# ? Apr 20, 2022 17:22

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

Harold Fjord posted:

The fossil fuel industries have long funded anti-nuclear activities, yes.

Never stop thinking about all those hippies who kept telling me a giant wave of radiation from Fukushima was about to poison the entire West Coast.

Yup. Favorite example is Indian Point, where National Resource Defense Council and Riverkeepers fought to close the plant and then it turned out they were benefitting from funds by the Natural Gas industry that directly benefitted from the closure of the plant.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 17:23

Professor Beetus: Apr 12, 2007; They can fight us
But they'll never Beetus

Harold Fjord posted:

The fossil fuel industries have long funded anti-nuclear activities, yes.

Never stop thinking about all those hippies who kept telling me a giant wave of radiation from Fukushima was about to poison the entire West Coast.

It's pretty sad, I knew a few decent leftist folks from school who got sucked into the Fukushima panic and become die hard anti-nuke environmentalists. That whole thing was so stupid, I know at least one person who stopped eating sushi because they were afraid of radioactive fish.

What was the deal with the Fukushima stuff anyway? I remember it being huge when I was still on social media but like, you could just watch real news and realize that nothing the doomsayers were going on about was actually happening.

Professor Beetus fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Apr 20, 2022

# ? Apr 20, 2022 17:23

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

Professor Beetus posted:

What was the deal with the Fukushima stuff anyway? I remember it being huge when I was still on social media but like, you could just watch real news and realize that nothing the doomsayers were going on about was actually happening.

For the most part? Nothings happened. Their water filtration system for the wastewater is functioning well and they began dumping treated water back into the ocean, overseen by both Japanese Nuclear Regulatory agency and the UN Nuclear Agencies.

They also have said there's less overall contamination than was previously expected outside the plant grounds. Cleanup of the spent fuel and reactors continues.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 17:38

BiggerBoat: Sep 26, 2007; Don't you tell me my business again.

Professor Beetus posted:

What was the deal with the Fukushima stuff anyway? I remember it being huge when I was still on social media but like, you could just watch real news and realize that nothing the doomsayers were going on about was actually happening.

Ahh, you see, that's what they want you to think. For the real scoop, you need to hit up YouTube and Facebook

# ? Apr 20, 2022 17:57

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

Politico had a pretty interesting interview with Biden's pollster.

The most interesting parts:

- He says this is the worst midterm environment for Democrats he has seen in a long time. The economy isn't the worst it has ever been, but the perception of the Democratic party is that they have no solutions for it and there is uncertainty about inflation, covid, and the economy in general. If the Democrats could deliver some things or get organized, then they could have a positive accomplishment to point to and reassure people. At the very least, voters need to feel like you actually have some kind of plan.

- Says that voters forget about what you've done for them if you haven't done anything for them lately - and Dems haven't done anything lately. BBB is still popular, but they need to deliver something. The stimulus bill was popular, but people forgot or don't care because it was over a year ago. The infrastructure bill is popular, but most of the impact of that won't take place for a few years.

- Obama, Reagan, and Clinton all had disastrous midterms following major accomplishments because their accomplishments happened a year before the midterms and they had been stagnating since then. Says Dems are currently following that same pattern (but, also notes that all of those Presidents got re-elected by huge margins following historically bad midterms and midterms aren't indicative of re-election results).

- He says that there are ways that the Democrats can pull out of their midterm spiral, but that he doesn't think they will actually do it. He thinks the best case realistic scenario is a skinny BBB with one or two major programs, climate stuff, and tax reform.

- Congressional Democrats are really loving everything up. Some of them are scared of doing anything for fear of getting attacked on it (but, they will anyway, so they are only hurting themselves), some of them don't want to do specific things, and there is no leadership. They shouldn't be bringing bills to votes when they don't know how a dozen house members or a few senators will vote. The tiny margins and disorganization make it difficult to do things and the public just sees the Dems fighting each other and failing to do anything. Some swing voters who dislike Republicans are more willing to vote for them if they think the Dems just can't govern.

- Democrats keep thinking that the only thing Latinos care about is immigration. But, immigration is low on their list and a larger and larger portion of Latinos are coming from American-born families with no immigrants in the immediate family. White people actually care the most about immigration.

- Latinos care a lot about the economy, crime, healthcare, education, and housing, but the Dems don't talk to them about their specific problems regarding those issues. They just talk to everyone the same very general way about issues like crime and the economy and only get into specifics about immigration with Latinos.

- The education and gender gaps are getting even larger. Democrats are doing better and better with women and college educated voters, but worse and worse among non-college educated voters and men. This is especially true among white and Hispanic men.

- There are a whole lot more non-college educated voters than college educated voters and they are more efficiently placed around the country for the electoral college and congress. That makes it even more politically damaging to be bleeding those demographics. They are running up the score to historic levels with educated voters and women, but they are often geographically concentrated and our political system makes that worth a lot less.

- His data shows that Dems can actually compete better among non-college educated voters - including non-union voters - and seniors in areas with strong union cultures like Nevada and Michigan. Working class voters and retirees are more hostile to unions in places where there are no unions or union culture.

- Dems need to dial up populism and find something they can all agree on to deliver. Delivering nothing in the 6 months before a midterm is bad, but delivering nothing while the public just sees you fighting with yourself at the same time is disastrous.

quote:

Ryan Lizza: Let�s just start off with how bad are things for Democrats this year and what can they do about it?

John Anzalone: I think what we�re missing right now is that voters are very much in �What have you done for me lately?� They always are. And they don�t feel Democrats can get their poo poo together and get things done.

So if we�re able to do something � a skinny BBB or whatever � on health insurance costs, prescription drug costs, elderly care, childcare, that�s a big deal because it will give Democrats a competitive advantage on what they�re doing for working families. And it�ll cut through the inflation narrative, the Ukraine narrative, the Afghan narrative, the border narrative, et cetera. Right now, we don�t see that and we don�t have that.

No one�s going to sit there as a Democratic consultant and try to bullshit you that this is anything but a really sour environment for Democrats. So we better look at the strategic ways that we can compete, right? Just compete to not get our asses kicked.

Most Americans are pissed at the fact that they pay their fair share in taxes as middle-class people. They work hard. They want to see the benefits of the economy. They�re getting raises.

Yes, inflation�s eating it up, but I�ll tell you what they�re pissed about : � They see these big companies not paying any taxes. And Biden�s proposal of making those making over $400,000 pay a little bit more taxes and big corporations pay a little bit more taxes so they pay their fair share to make investments in healthcare and education and childcare is really important.

Lizza: Would you dial up nationally with the populism?

Anzalone: I would so dial up.

Lizza: Just from a messaging point of view?

Anzalone: Yes. We�re scared of our own shadow on taxes and it � makes no sense. � Listen, people do not begrudge people making a lot of money and getting wealthy. People have a problem and are pissed off about them not paying any taxes. Why, as a party, we don�t elevate that in our messaging and contrast messaging is beyond me.

This is not a Biden problem, by the way: Joe Biden has been doing this for three years. This is a congressional Democrat problem � [people] who shy away from this because they think that they�re going to get hit on taxes. Guess loving what? You�re going to get hit on taxes anyway � so control the narrative. �

Lizza: All right. So we�re sitting here in Nevada. You�re working on the governor�s re-election campaign. Ruy Teixeira, who you probably know, is a Democratic data analyst. He co-authored that book back in the day, The Emerging Democratic Majority. He wrote something about Nevada that I thought was really interesting recently: He said it�s the place where the Democrats� white working-class problem and Hispanic problem is colliding to cause a very, very difficult environment. You�ve been probably polling the hell out of this state, working here. I�m curious what you think of that theory. Then just give us your breakdown of what Nevada tells us right now about Democrats nationally.

Anzalone: I think that it�s always easy to say, �Oh, a state is unique.� Nevada is unique because it�s based on one economy: It�s tourism, it�s casinos. Covid beat the poo poo out of it. And it�s chock full of white, non-[college-educated] voters, as well as Latinos. � And so why that�s different, for example, my experience in Michigan is that there�s a whole lot of non �

Lizza: You�re working on [the campaign of Michigan Gov. Gretchen] Whitmer. Give us the kind of Michigan versus Nevada.

Anzalone: In Michigan, you have plenty of non-college-educated voters, white and black. Macomb County is a perfect example. But guess what? You also have a pretty decent union base, right? And even if you aren�t a part of a union, you�re in a union culture, so you�re not so anti-union, right? And you have a bunch of white seniors who were union. So the seniors act differently in Michigan because a lot of them were in unions. We can compete with seniors there better than we can compete with white, non-college-educated [voters].

Lizza: Does that mean they have more of a connection to the Democratic Party or networks that are easier to tap into?

Anzalone: No doubt about it. Grew up in that culture where unions weren�t evil, and the organizational aspect of it, as well. You have unions here that are really important, clearly. Also, a little bit more transient of people coming in and out � it�s just a difficult culture. I mean, just the service industry here in the casinos, et cetera, is just a different culture than it is in a place like Michigan. So you�re going to see that universe bounce around. I would say the Latino portion of it is no different than what we�re seeing nationally in terms of it.

Lizza: Take us through that. I think there was a lot of denial about this in 2018 and 2020 when some of the data started to show softening, Hispanic support for Democrats �

Anzalone: We were raising red flags.

Lizza: You were?

Anzalone: Oh, yeah. And the Biden campaign took it very seriously. I think they probably spent more money on Latino paid media early on. Our message was always: Treat Latinos like persuadable voters. Communicate with them from the very beginning. The Biden campaign did very specific Latino media, very specific African American media, as well as everyone else, I think as early as July.

So we were treating all voters like persuadable voters, or just understanding that you can�t come in six weeks before an election with African Americans and Latinos on GOTV and expect that that�s going to be enough. You have to give them the argument of Biden�s vision. We have to do that again in 2022. What is the Democratic vision and agenda? How are we helping you more than the Republicans?

Lizza: Are we seeing racial groups that have a history of voting strongly for Democrats starting to polarize along education lines the same way that white voters have been? And that working-class Latinos, African Americans are?

Anzalone: In our data, it doesn�t matter where we are. It really has more to do with male and female. There�s a huge divide where Latinos are voting or say they�re going to vote, whether you�re a male Latino or a you�re a female Latino.

Lizza: So the Democratic problem was with male Latinos specifically?

Anzalone: Yes. You�re right. And any of our bleed is younger male African Americans. We saw that in 2020 as well. So whether you�re looking at white voters or Latino voters or black voters, quite frankly, you�re seeing a gender difference. And then you�ll see, of course, a college-educated difference, as well. I mean, we do better with college-educated men than non-college-educated men in any of that group. But the male-female split within Latinos is pretty significant.

Lizza: When you do focus groups and really sort of get under the hood of that issue, what are you learning?

Anzalone: I think the myth that always needs to be broken among Latinos and African Americans, is that I think that a lot of time, there�s this narrative in D.C. among Democrats that you only talk to Latinos about immigration. Like, immigration is the 12th issue that they�re concerned about. It�s always about the economy or inflation or healthcare or schools. Without a doubt, things like housing and crime tend to be higher among African Americans and Latinos, as well.

So there are specific issues that you want to do. But again, in turn you�ve got to understand whatever each voter is going through in their personal lives. Their attention tends to be on those things that white voters put a priority on as well.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/15/bidens-pollster-midterms-00025482

Leon Trotsky 2012 fucked around with this message at 20:53 on Apr 20, 2022

# ? Apr 20, 2022 19:39

FlamingLiberal: Jan 18, 2009; Would you like to play a game?

If they aren�t going to deal with �kitchen table� issues, or just ignore them, they�re going to get annihilated in November

I get no impression of any urgency to actually do anything on the part of either the WH or Congressional leadership. Biden could forgive the $10K in student debt today, but he won�t do it because he doesn�t believe it�s a major issue for people. They are trying to blame Russia for the gas issues, but they are also getting hosed over by the Saudis (specifically MBS) and they won�t say or do anything about that.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 20:14

Ups_rail: Dec 8, 2006; by Fluffdaddy

The nuclear thing sucks because it is a good power source. But there is a huge up front cost, you dont know if the regulators will shut you down, and there is just a political risk, and no benifit because a successful modernization of our nuclear plants would be a decades long undertaking.

Never mind that it feels like the 1970's with an energy shock happening....again.

On the disney front the FL senate approved removing reedy creek, and now its up to the house and governor. Disney has about a week to play a hail marry. Oh and it seems Disney did/could issue bonds, if reedy creek is removed it means they will have to pay those up.

As for the obama years...he was charismatic spoke well, but I feel he lacked expereince dealing with the GOP, he was too quick to offer compromise, all well fox news screamed like loving crazy people. Remember the coffee cup solute?

But also... he was a vote for change and it just didnt happen.

In economic news me and few others who do a bit of work in the trades went in and bought a bunch of building material's were expecting prices to go up again. This inflation is not transitory or because of Ukraine. Our leaders need to pull a vocker and loving jack up the interest rates pull money from the system and let the old and bad debts get cleared out.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 20:34

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

If Florida actually does fully go through with the removal of the special district for Disney, then that will require the 3 counties that comprise the new district to fork over $2.1 billion over 10 years in tax money to pay for Disney's roads, EMS, police, and other county services they are legally required to provide. That would be about $220 per taxpayer per year and $2,200 over 10 years.

And the only negative impact on Disney would be that they would be subject to county restrictions passed by the state legislature and counties could theoretically zone houses or retail spaces near Disney World. The biggest advantages of the special district were the land dispensations that happened in 1967 and you can't take those back.

Seems unbelievably dumb for Florida to do that, but I can totally see them doing it.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 20:41

Mr. Fall Down Terror: Jan 24, 2018; by Fluffdaddy

Ups_rail posted:

On the disney front the FL senate approved removing reedy creek, and now its up to the house and governor. Disney has about a week to play a hail marry. Oh and it seems Disney did/could issue bonds, if reedy creek is removed it means they will have to pay those up.

it won't be so bad for disney if RCID is dissolved. it will be annoying but business will carry on as usual, just with more paperwork

it will gently caress over the people of unincorporated osceola and orange counties, who have to inherit the assets of RCID and keep up with services for disney parks like trash pickup and recycling, without any additional tax base at first to pay for more personnel or resources. and the counties will inherit the billion+ dollars in bonds RCID was floating, which probably means a special tax assessment of over $2k per family for all unincorporated residents of the counties (and a steep rent hike next year for renters)

if disney is gracious, it will just gift that money to the local entities who get hosed over by desantis dropping this problem in their laps

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

If Florida actually does fully go through with the removal of the special district for Disney, then that will require the 3 counties that comprise the new district to fork over $2.1 billion over 10 years in tax money to pay for Disney's roads, EMS, police, and other county services they are legally required to provide. That would be about $220 per taxpayer per year and $2,200 over 10 years.

no, thats the money they'd have to fork over pretty much immediately to secure the debt carried by RCID. normally a municipality or county will not carry massive amounts of debt like that, but a local government entity backstopped by a multinational corporation can do so without a care because it has a gold plated bond rating and a drat near infinite portal of money to grab from if it needs to

paying for disney park services is an additional tax hike which will probably be levied on disney at the next tax hike session. until then county taxpayers will have to make do with a county government that suddenly has 10x the responsibility but 1x of the budget to cover it all. the actual budget hole caused by needing to pay for services is on the order of less than $10m a year but that's still a loving lot to ask for a suburban county government to pick up all of a sudden

Mr. Fall Down Terror fucked around with this message at 21:10 on Apr 20, 2022

# ? Apr 20, 2022 20:42

selec: Sep 6, 2003

Hope is a mirage, but this would be incredible for the drama

https://twitter.com/waposean/status/1516861774452121603?s=21&t=LvGWdT-251PW-_Ak7fsPUg

# ? Apr 20, 2022 20:46

virtualboyCOLOR: Dec 22, 2004

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

Politico had a pretty interesting interview with Biden's pollster.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/15/bidens-pollster-midterms-00025482

It seems the Democratic Party is aware of the issues they are going into November with, have identified a path that would bring in voters and bridge the gap in enthusiasm, but have ultimately decided they won�t do anything for ~reasons~ (likely future fundraising expectations and general corruption via capitalism).

It�s increasingly obvious that leadership needs to change but will not. At this point the new blood needs to either force the old guards hands or the party needs to self destruct. I don�t say this flippantly: In the long run I strongly feel Biden winning the 2020 election was the worse outcome for the future of the Democratic Party and the country as a whole. There are obvious actions (repeal title 42, student loan forgiveness, pushed BBB, etc) that his admin chose not to and continues not to do. His mixed messaging on covid has opened the country up to the worst waves so far (even with a vaccine available). He isn�t even attempting to fight keeping masks on flights when the recent trend in covid cases is going up. He is not just a terrible president but appears to be actively rolling out the red carpet for fascist like DeSantis.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 20:50

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

selec posted:

Hope is a mirage, but this would be incredible for the drama

https://twitter.com/waposean/status/1516861774452121603?s=21&t=LvGWdT-251PW-_Ak7fsPUg

Biden is going to run, so it doesn't matter. But, it would be kind of wild (and a very on the nose metaphor) if we had 3 consecutive Presidents who all broke the record for oldest President ever inaugurated right back to back to back.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 20:50

Willa Rogers: Mar 11, 2005

FlamingLiberal posted:

If they aren�t going to deal with �kitchen table� issues, or just ignore them, they�re going to get annihilated in November

I get no impression of any urgency to actually do anything on the part of either the WH or Congressional leadership. Biden could forgive the $10K in student debt today, but he won�t do it because he doesn�t believe it�s a major issue for people. They are trying to blame Russia for the gas issues, but they are also getting hosed over by the Saudis (specifically MBS) and they won�t say or do anything about that.

Maybe it's a bad case of The Optics, but all the Dem- & admin-affiliated pollsters & strategists appear to think it comes down to "messaging" or "perceptions"--in other words, countering voters' lying eyes.

It only further alienates voters to see their realities dismissed, or told that they're lucky duckies to now make $22k/year instead of $20k/year. Food prices are BAD, utility costs are BAD, medical costs are BAD and housing costs are BAD. None of these costs are going to go down in time for the midterms, and it's unlikely that anything other than possibly food costs will drop dramatically before 2024.

To see establishment Dems say that :actually:

happy days are here again & you have to be a trumper to not see all the wonderful gains that the economy has supposedly amassed makes Dems even more loathed than they already are, and voters all the more susceptible to right-wing framing about Dems being out of touch.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 21:08

RBA Starblade: Apr 28, 2008; Going Home.

Games Idiot Court Jester

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

Biden is going to run, so it doesn't matter. But, it would be kind of wild (and a very on the nose metaphor) if we had 3 consecutive Presidents who all broke the record for oldest President ever inaugurated right back to back to back.

He could even reuse that ad asking us again for support

# ? Apr 20, 2022 21:09

BiggerBoat: Sep 26, 2007; Don't you tell me my business again.

virtualboyCOLOR posted:

It seems the Democratic Party is aware of the issues they are going into November with, have identified a path that would bring in voters and bridge the gap in enthusiasm, but have ultimately decided they won�t do anything for ~reasons~ (likely future fundraising expectations and general corruption via capitalism).

It�s increasingly obvious that leadership needs to change but will not. At this point the new blood needs to either force the old guards hands or the party needs to self destruct. I don�t say this flippantly: In the long run I strongly feel Biden winning the 2020 election was the worse outcome for the future of the Democratic Party and the country as a whole. There are obvious actions (repeal title 42, student loan forgiveness, pushed BBB, etc) that his admin chose not to and continues not to do. His mixed messaging on covid has opened the country up to the worst waves so far (even with a vaccine available). He isn�t even attempting to fight keeping masks on flights when the recent trend in covid cases is going up. He is not just a terrible president but appears to be actively rolling out the red carpet for fascist like DeSantis.

Yeah, this is going to be a blood bath and deservedly so.

This is a really tired cycle of dems running on stopping the monsters on the other side and then doing gently caress all once their voters deliver while they poo poo all over their base and call them crazy after they win. There's a reason I'm registered as an Independent for 25 years now even though I vote democrat most of the time and it's as simple as their steadfast refusal to represent me and the things I stand for. Let alone actively making GBS threads on me, what I think and the members of their party that I actually like. It's loving depressing and I find myself increasingly disengaged as I age when it should be the other way around.

All I've ever gotten for my trouble working for them is endless mail asking me for more money that they loving well know I don't have and messaging about how THIS election is another one of the never ending Most Important Ones In Our Lifetime.

I mean, gently caress man, right out of the gate they dicked around with the $2000 they were going to send everyone with some "well, ackshually" bullshit about how we already got $400 so this $1600 is really 2 grand now, which was such an easy lay up win that they managed to gently caress up and most people paying attention realized they'd have gotten the full $2000 under Trump so it felt like a net loss of a month's worth of groceries.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 21:13

Jaxyon: Mar 7, 2016; I’m just saying I would like to see a man beat a woman in a cage. Just to be sure.

virtualboyCOLOR posted:

It seems the Democratic Party is aware of the issues they are going into November with, have identified a path that would bring in voters and bridge the gap in enthusiasm, but have ultimately decided they won�t do anything for ~reasons~ (likely future fundraising expectations and general corruption via capitalism).

It�s increasingly obvious that leadership needs to change but will not. At this point the new blood needs to either force the old guards hands or the party needs to self destruct. I don�t say this flippantly: In the long run I strongly feel Biden winning the 2020 election was the worse outcome for the future of the Democratic Party and the country as a whole. There are obvious actions (repeal title 42, student loan forgiveness, pushed BBB, etc) that his admin chose not to and continues not to do. His mixed messaging on covid has opened the country up to the worst waves so far (even with a vaccine available). He isn�t even attempting to fight keeping masks on flights when the recent trend in covid cases is going up. He is not just a terrible president but appears to be actively rolling out the red carpet for fascist like DeSantis.

Your assumption seems to be that fascist lite is worse than fascist not-lite because it paves the way for worse fascists.

Which ignores the fact that fascist not-lite also paves the way for worse fascists, but harder.

It's entirely possible that Biden wasn't the worse outcome, but it's close enough that it's cold comfort.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 21:13

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# ? May 23, 2024 08:08

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

Biden is still expected to go forward with the Title 42 lifting (he has always had the line that it is up to the CDC and was never his call and is sticking with it to argue that he can't keep it forever), but he is now begging Democratic Senators to not knife him in the back.

He's trying to work out deals with "vulnerable Democrats" to not criticize him when they have a surge of people at the border that they can't turn away and to not support a Republican amendment to require Title 42 enforcement permanently.

Part of the deal involves promising to debut a new immigration processing plan before lifting it.

8 Democratic Senators and all 50 Republican Senators have publicly indicated that they oppose ending Title 42 right now.

https://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/1516870844492005376

quote:

Tensions run high as Biden administration gets earful from some panicked lawmakers over Title 42

Tensions remain very high within the Biden administration ahead of the expected repeal of a Trump-era pandemic restriction next month and the potential surge of migrants at the border that's expected to follow, according to a source familiar with ongoing discussions.

Since the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recent announcement that the restriction -- known as Title 42 -- would be revoked, the White House has been getting an earful from lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including some who are expressing "complete panic" about the ramifications of that decision, the person said.

At this point, administration officials are juggling multiple balls: Trying to figure out how to get a handle on the congressional revolt, watching to see what legislative actions related to Title 42 emerge and trying to figure out how to be best prepared for what might happen at the border next month.

Asked about ongoing discussions at the White House about Title 42, spokesman Vedant Patel said in part that the administration is "hard at work planning and preparing" for the lifting of Title 42 and that the CDC that has the authority to determine when that should happen.

"When Title 42 is no longer in place, migrants who attempt to enter the country unlawfully will be placed in immigration proceedings," Patel added. "Asylum and other legal migration pathways should remain available to those seeking protection but those who don't qualify will be promptly removed to their countries of origin."

Title 42 is a pandemic-era order that allowed US border officials to turn migrants back to Mexico or their home countries immediately because of a public health crisis.

Many Democrats on Capitol Hill have been vocal about their fear that rescinding the rule in May is not enough time for the administration to establish an adequate plan to handle the uptick in migrant crossings that is expected to ensue.

Arizona's senators -- Democrats Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly -- sent a letter to President Joe Biden last month arguing the restriction needed to stay in place until the administration showed it had a clear plan to manage the number of migrants crossing the border. Kelly is facing a competitive reelection in November.

Republicans have seized on the repeal and have signaled it will be a key part of their midterm campaign strategy.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told CNN on Tuesday his department is preparing for a potential increase in migrants.

Asked about the pushback from both parties, Mayorkas told CNN: "I say, number one, that we have plans. We are executing on those plans."

US Customs and Border Protection had 221,303 encounters at the US-Mexico border in March, which marked yet another jump in arrests along the southern border. CBP has already apprehended more than 1 million people this fiscal year, which began on October 1. That includes some repeat crossers.

# ? Apr 20, 2022 21:14

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > US CE Spring 2022: I'm convinced it's useless which is why I argue about it all day every day

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