The White House did not comment on the meeting, but Mr. Spicer affirmed in his press briefing that infrastructure remains a high priority
Mr. McGarvey and Terry O’Sullivan, the general president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, stressed to reporters their satisfaction at meeting with the president so soon after the inauguration. They said they went the entire Obama administration without being invited to a similar meeting.
(Some building trades leaders attended meetings with a broader cross section of unions at the Obama White House.)
Both groups endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2015, but their presidents were effusive in praising Mr. Trump’s knowledge of the building and construction industry.
“We have a common bond with the president,” Mr. McGarvey said. “We come from the same industry. He understands the value of driving development, moving people to the middle class.”
Even though most unions endorsed Hillary, union support for Hillary declined:
Trump’s depiction of who those voters were centered on two broad archetypes: Veterans and displaced factory workers. There isn’t good polling on the former, but it overlaps with the white, non-college-educated men who made up a significant part of Trump’s base. In one formulation of the latter, union members, we have data from exit polling. In union households (that is, households in which someone was a union member), Trump trailed Hillary Clinton by only 8 points, a substantial improvement from how Mitt Romney did in 2012.
In fact, it was the best margin for a Republican since … 1984, the election that gave Reagan his second term.
Via Deadspin, here’s your reward, blue collar whites:
The Washington Examiner reports that tomorrow, Republican Congressmen Steve King and Joe Wilson will introduce national “right to work” legislation. A quick primer: “Right to work” laws (or “free rider” laws, as unions see them) allow workers in unionized workplaces to get the benefits of a union contract without having to pay union dues. Currently, just over half of the states in the country—including the entire South—have statewide “right to work” laws, and union membership tends to be much lower in those states, because the ability of people to opt out of paying union dues just because they don’t feel like it makes it harder to maintain strong unions, and can be financially crippling. (A union might, for example, negotiate a contract covering 500 workers, only to see half of them take the benefits of the contract and then not pay anything to the union. It’s a tough way to survive.) Is it still possible to have unions in “right to work” stat? Yes.
A national “right to work” law would be the Holy Grail of right wing anti-labor forces who have despised unions for decades. There is no law that would be more detrimental to union membership. You need only look at the state-by-state union membership numbers to see how bad it could get. It’s not going overboard to imagine national union numbers could fall by half in short order. Unions would still exist, but they would have to work immeasurably harder to maintain their financial stability and relationships with members. All legally enshrined stability would be gone. Such a law would make every workplace in America an uphill battle for organized labor. And since unionization is one of the only things that average workers today can do to improve their economic position, this would undoubtedly exacerbate economic inequality, increase the power of corporations over their employees, and make it harder for Americans to have any hope of a middle class lifestyle. So it will naturally be endorsed by Donald Trump, our “blue collar billionaire” prez who loves the common man!
The only upside I can think of this is that fewer of these jackasses will be able to afford their giant vehicle penis pick-em-up trucks tailgating me with their lights in my mirror. If you own a pick-up truck and it doesn’t have farm use on it or a shitload of dents or something hitched to it, you’re just an asshole. There’s a lot of assholes out there. Soon to be driving Kia’s.
Baud
Someone here a long time ago said unions aren’t really interested in unionism but only in their union.
Anywho, only care about the Hillary voters who will be hurt by this.
Gin & Tonic
Somehow I’ve made it through 62 years on this spinning rock without ever owning a pickup truck or a firearm.
Yoda Dog
Well shit John, when you put it like that I’m almost in favor of it…
Yarrow
Ain’t that the truth.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Fifty quatloos says this is debunked within a couple hours (not that anyone will care)
trollhattan
Gosh, like we couldn’t see that coming from a
milelightyear away.Also, too, now that my team is officially out of the running for Superbowl I’m left to pick over the bones of the Seahawks’ season and damnit, now I have to change my tune about Wilson being the league’s most boring superstar. #DangerussNotaTrumpFan. Something we can all agree on: everyone misses Marshawn.
Couldn't Stand the Weather
John,
That was a great description.
As for these victims of Drumpf’s cult of personality…no pity for ’em. None at all.
Ian G.
I’m beginning to resent my great-grandparents for choosing to emigrate to New York rather than Montreal or Toronto.
trollhattan
@Gin & Tonic:
As the teen of the house is fond of saying: same.
Yarrow
Ugh. Quoted John and got sent to moderation. Editing offensive word.
Ain’t that the truth.
Baud
BTW, not that Trump wouldn’t sign this in a second, but Trump hasn’t betrayed the unions on this yet. The second part of this post doesn’t follow from the first half.
Yoda Dog
@trollhattan: I loathe your hawks.
And yes, dammit, even I also miss Marshawn very much….
Couldn't Stand the Weather
I have been moderated.
To quote Richard Pryor… was it something I said?
Mike J
@trollhattan: Get that man an o-line!
SiubhanDuinne
So I can’t help noticing that CNN has one of their stupid “countdown clocks” going for the grand announcement of Dolt 45’s SCOTUS nominee. As Charles P. Pierce, among others, has pointed out, T is treating the nomination announcement like reality TV entertainment, milking the suspense until the last possible moment. He has no class, no style, and no sense of or respect for occasion. And CNN just cheerfully plays along.
Corner Stone
@trollhattan: Something else we can all agree on.
I’m just bout that action, boss. Just bout that action.
Yoda Dog
@trollhattan: On a similar note: Yuuuge props to Dale Earnhardt Jr. for speaking out. I have to imagine that guy, of all people, actually has the ears and respect of a few trumpers.
Pogonip
The cost of a medicine I have to take has gone DOWN. WTF?!?!!?? Is the world coming to an end?
scav
This lot do love burning their allies — must be a sign of their love for them. Wonder how long it’ll take them to decriminalize domestic abuse like Putie?
Baud
@SiubhanDuinne: He’s making both finalists attend. It’ll be like him crowning Miss America.
Corner Stone
They were definitely useful idiots. Every RWNJ Talking Head made sure to say, “He (Trump) is even bring in THE UNIONS!!”
SiubhanDuinne
Fixed for moar accuracy.
SiubhanDuinne
@Baud:
Will both finalists have to demonstrate their talent, and walk around in Speedos, and explain in 60 seconds or less how they would bring about world peace? Will Zombie Antonio Scalia crown the winner? Will the runner-up get a lovely prize?
Peanut Gallery
Mr O’Sullivan appears to have a less-than-perfect memory, according to this article in 2009.
Davis X. Machina
@Baud: He will, he will — He turned on a dime today on negotiating drug prices with big Pharma.
Baud
@Davis X. Machina: Oh, no doubt. These labor leaders will be schmucks. I’m just saying they are technically not schmucks yet.
A Ghost to Most
John, you haven’t experienced the full liberal experience until you’ve been coal-rolled in a Prius by a giant dick extender. I’m up to three full plumage displays in my travels around Denver.
01jack
@Baud: If they know who was chosen, then it follows that he picked the wrong one: the runner-up is happy to follow orders even if humiliating anf thus obviously the better choice.
(Edited for clarity)
EBT
@SiubhanDuinne: President Bannon froze them out, so they have to toe the line to get anyone to let them back in.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trump-cnn-press-234455
Baud
@SiubhanDuinne: Is humiliation considered a prize?
Honus
@Yarrow: Between lower pay from right to work and tariffs on imports, dumb asses won’t even be able to afford Kias.
NotMax
You’re missing the unspoken message: it’s okay to secede from the union.
EBT
@A Ghost to Most: Caltrops are easy to make.
SiubhanDuinne
@Baud:
Sometimes that’s all there is.
trollhattan
@Yoda Dog:
Yup, good on him. Bet any support he’s gotten from other drivers has been whispered.
Tripod
Take one look at that electoral map, and Trump running around sucking their dicks.
They sat on their voters.
SiubhanDuinne
@EBT:
That whole feud makes me yearn for meteors.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
OT:
I’m always a little queasy about marches on their private residences, but… “thousands”. Wow.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@SiubhanDuinne: I gave up on CNN years ago, but I gather Jake Tapper has been pretty good in the last few weeks (Me, I’ll never forget his sniveling reference to Fox as “our sister network”)
lamh36
Uh huh…seems like alot of folk let themselves be suckered…all for either spite…or in this case I link to…cause some folks by into this myth of the “model minority” or “model immigrant” story…smh
Family of Syrians Deported From Philadelphia Voted for Donald Trump | NBC 10 Philadelphia
I know I should feel bad for them, and sure I guess in some small way I do, but they fell for the okey doke…and Trump “said what he said” and now their own family members done got, got…
rikyrah
Patrick McCray @LeapingRobot
The viciousness of Trumpism in action = dismantling the Civil Rights Act of 1964 exhibit at Library of Congress #notmypresident
4:11 PM – 30 Jan 2017
OlFroth
I have a short-bed pickup only because I need it to haul horse manure for my compost pile. Believe me, you don’t want that stuff in a trunk or a hatchback. I also had to get the full sized cab because I have three kids. I don’t think that owning it makes me an asshole, but as they say, opinions differ.
Corner Stone
@OlFroth: Asshole!
Patricia Kayden
This link allows you to contact your Senators about pressing issues such as stopping Sessions’ confirmation. Just put in your zip code and it leads you to your Senators’ phone number and has a script you can read from outlining your position.
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I think that’s a waste. But we’ll see.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: From the photo it looks like they’re marching from…. Washington Square? With the replica of the arc de triomphe? to Schumer’s house in Brooklyn. I don’t really know NYC, but isn’t Trump Tower closer?
@OlFroth: Just today I was tailgated by a Subaru wagon and an Audi sedan, and in neither case was I going less than speed limit +5
rikyrah
“…Theresa May’s decision to invite Donald Trump to a state visit has put the Queen in a “very difficult position”, a former head of the Foreign Office says.
Lord Ricketts told the BBC the speed of the invitation had “surprised” him.
A petition calling for the state visit to be cancelled has gathered more than 1.6 million signatures. A rival pro-visit petition has more than 90,000.
Lord Ricketts, who was permanent secretary at the Foreign Office from 2006 to 2010, said it was unprecedented for a US president to be invited for a state visit in their first year in the White House.
In a letter to the Times, he questioned whether Mr Trump was “specially deserving of this exceptional honour” and described the invitation as “premature”.
“It would have been far wiser to wait to see what sort of president he would turn out to be before advising the Queen to invite him.
“Now the Queen is put in a very difficult position,” he said.
UK visits by US presidents:
Richard Nixon: 1969 Visited one month after inauguration; no state visit
Barack Obama: 2009 Visited two months after inauguration; state visit after 28 months
George Bush: 1989 Visited four months after inauguration; no state visit
John F Kennedy: 1961 Visited five months after inauguration; no state visit
George W Bush: 2001 Visited six months after inauguration; state visit after 32 months
Lord Ricketts told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme the state visit should be delayed until later in the presidency, and Mr Trump should instead be invited for an official visit this year, “centred mainly on political talks with the prime minister”.
The prime minister has been under growing pressure to say whether or not she was briefed on the US travel restrictions when she met President Trump in Washington last week.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told MPs on Monday he would not comment on “confidential conversations” between the two leaders.
Mrs May faced heavy criticism when she refused several times to condemn the restrictions when asked during a visit to Turkey.
Downing Street later issued a statement saying she “does not agree” with Mr Trump’s travel ban but that US immigration was a matter for the US government.
But during demonstrations in London on Monday, the crowd chanted slogans including “Shame on May”.
Protesters packed Whitehall, causing the closure of Parliament Square. They held banners accusing Mr Trump of Islamophobia and Mrs May of appeasing him.
Demonstrations also took place in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton, Gloucester, Leeds, York, Liverpool, Leicester and several other towns and cities.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said Mr Trump should not be welcomed to Britain “while he abuses our shared values with his shameful Muslim ban and attacks on refugees’ and women’s rights”.
The Dangerman
@Baud: Luckily, neither finalist is a woman or there’d be a bikini competition.
Turgidson
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
He has his moments, but he fancies himself some sort of fearless “just the facts” ballbuster when most of the time he’s just a garden variety BothSiderist twit who furrows his brow and says things with a stern affect and thinks those things make him the spiritual heir to Murrow and Cronkite.
Patricia Kayden
Let me try that again. This link allows you to contact your Senators about pressing issues such as stopping Sessions’ confirmation. Just put in your zip code and it leads you to your Senators’ phone number and has a script you can read from outlining your position.
Mr Stagger Lee
A sure giveaway to a dickhead in Pick up truck, is the size of an American Flag. The bigger the flag, the bigger the A-hole. Multiply x10 if they also have a Gadsen Flag. X20 Trump sticker also bonus, the faux Starbucks I love Gun’s and coffee sticker.
rikyrah
We take healthy food for granted. People don’t grasp that healthy food comes from government regulation.
…………………..
Jesse Berney Verified account
@jesseberney
My friend @pnuts_mama, an organic farmer, is extremely excited about Trump’s plan to eliminate regulations.
hovercraft
@Gin & Tonic:
Well obviously you haven’t lived, to endure 62 years without two giant penile symbols means you are a namby pamby liberal, not a “real American, tough guy”
Honus
@OlFroth: you’re not an asshole. Here’s the definition:
“There’s a brand new F150 in every lane of I-35
some banker from Dallas sure as hell don’t need a four wheel drive”
“Texas” by Sons of Bill
OlFroth
@Corner Stone: Thanks!
SiubhanDuinne
‘Scuse me, everyone, but I need to interrupt because this is important.
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Jerry Falwell Jr. says he will chair a federal task force on higher education policy. Not a joke, unless some extremely clever person has created a spoof Chronicle page.
http://www.chronicle.com/article/Jerry-Falwell-Jr-Says-He-Will/239062/
NotMax
@rikyrah
Yup, those migrant workers can go back to sh*tting in the fields (saves time plus it’s organic!) as God intended.
Davebo
@OlFroth:
Assholes come in all types of vehicles.
Take Subaru’s for instance….
OlFroth
@Honus: Well, it IS an F-150, but it ISN’T four-wheel drive.
Amaranthine RBG
I’ve never understood the pickup hate.
What, am I supposed to haul rosebushes and steer manure in the back of my Tesla? I don’t think so.
Baud
@rikyrah: When agribusiness is allowed to mislabel their products as “organic,” I’m sure this guy will blame Obama.
JPL
@rikyrah: State regulation can often hurt organic farmers. According the federal regulations, the local farmer can have more chickens without undue regulatory and expense pressure. The state blocks that though, because the large chicken produces don’t want the competition.
Patricia Kayden
@SiubhanDuinne: So this means that he will attack godless/liberal Professors who treat racism, climate change, LGBT rights and abortion as serious topics. One thing I’ll give to Trump, he’s going balls to the walls to attack our institutions and norms.
Davebo
@Amaranthine RBG:
John has to have something to whine about or his life isn’t complete.
Sad, but that’s where we are.
OlFroth
@Amaranthine RBG: Perhaps its just hating on the people who buy them as status symbols? I say this as a pickup owner, but I’ve seen some ridiculous vehicles out there, like a jacked-up F-450 with giant exhaust stacks and a ladder to get into the freakish thing?
BBA
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn also has a big arch. The protest is probably there.
(not to be confused with Grand Army Plaza in Manhattan, which is right by Trump Tower)
SiubhanDuinne
@Patricia Kayden:
I am not an academic myself, but I spent close to 25 years working with academics in every imaginable discipline. I am just sick about this appointment, frightened for my friends and colleagues, and in despair about the policy implications.
I know we have many genuine scholars/academics here at BJ. Please share your thoughts on this atrocity. I just keep muttering “What the everloving blue-eyed fuck?” under my breath.
? Martin
@SiubhanDuinne: Lots of regulation in the Higher Education Act. Title III (institutional aid) can go, IV (student assistance), VI (international education), IX (equal opportunity). Easy pickings for his new 2 out 1 in policy.
Ruviana
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: It might portend good or at least better things. I remember when Tapper and a couple of others kept me sane during the Clinton impeachment era writing in Salon.
Hob
@BBA: Yes – and that Twitter feed says several times that the march started in Grand Army Plaza.
Corner Stone
@rikyrah:
I don’t understand why this person is excited? They can work 3 times as hard to produce quality food and have all their products confused with someone who can now just slap a label on shitfood? Do they think they can drop quality and procedure and somehow still compete on price against BigAg?
Another Scott
Another lawsuit for Trump to deal with. BlueVirginia:
Good. More please.
Cheers,
Scott.
Corner Stone
The decision to declare war is still a Congressional prerogative, sir. I hate to edumacate you.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Ruviana: I sometimes wonder if Tapper includes Salon on his CV
hovercraft
@Amaranthine RBG:
I have no problem with farmers, landscapers, delivery people, or anyone for that matter who actually needs one, but, the people who just get them for the hell of it annoy me, it’s not like it was back when we claimed not to know they were bad for the environment, and were only giant gas guzzlers. Now we know that burning fossil fuels is bad, and so if you still get the biggest truck just for the hell of it, then that makes you an asshole. By truck I mean, pick up or Hummer. If you have a bunch of kids who are really tall, I know a minivans rear seats may not work so a guzzler may be the only option.
Corner Stone
Tonight is one of those bright shining moments where I viscerally hate and despise every single person who voted for Trump.
rikyrah
Africa Facts Zone @AfricaFactsZone
Nigerian-American Harvard student, Imelme Umana has been chosen as the first black female President of the Harvard Law Review.
6:53 AM – 30 Jan 2017
SiubhanDuinne
@? Martin:
Really hope geg6 will weigh in on this. It totally affects her job.
Comrade Scrutinizer
@Corner Stone: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
EriktheRed
@OlFroth: Well, of course you’re not.
You actually have a practical reason for owning one.
Ruviana
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: And I think it was his best work!
Renie
@SiubhanDuinne: not just CNN. i understand all the networks are going to break from their prime-time shows to air this b.s. what a travesty. this clown is really destroying our country and its less than 2 weeks of his term.
Amaranthine RBG
@hovercraft:
My F150 has combined rating of 21 MPG. That’s better than a Toyota Sienna minivan (19) and lots of other vehicles that you probably think are dandy.
So much misdirected anger.
SiubhanDuinne
@Renie:
Oh, I’m sure. But CNN is the only non-sports channel showing at the bar where I currently am, so it’s the countdown clock I’m most aware of.
Corner Stone
@Comrade Scrutinizer: Whaaatt?? It is. It really is! Why are you looking at me like that? I have shorts on!
But seriously, that mindset is the whole fucking problem.
FlyingToaster
@OlFroth: Your requirements are the definition of “Needs a Pickup Truck”. I live in a city, haul a girl, her friends, bags of sports equipment &/or musical instruments about. Occasionally I need to bring in bags of mulch from Mahoney’s or Russell’s. My requirements are the definition of “Needs a Minivan”.
A guy working for Fidelity Investments driving a F450 is the definition of “Needs a fucking MINI”.
hovercraft
@Corner Stone:
Because, FREEDOM !! Perhaps the person knowing that organic farming is expensive, is looking forward to going back to good old fashioned chemicals and still labeling his produce as organic, after all if they are already know as an organic producer, whose to know that they aren’t anymore?
Corner Stone
So the average IQ in the room just dropped dramatically? If Both Donald Jr and Eric are in the room it has to cool down several degrees at least.
Major Major Major Major
@Amaranthine RBG: do you haul lots of rose bushes and steer manure? Enough to justify a full F150? No friend who has one you can borrow sometimes, you need one all to your lonesome? Because unless you use it for hauling a lot (or don’t use it for anything else)… 21 is really shitty mileage for something you don’t need.
ETA: and I used to haul plants around in a hatchback, it’s why god made blankets.
OlFroth
@Amaranthine RBG: I’ve been getting 26 MPG on the highway, but then again, I drive 55. That said, I’m surprised at how good the mileage is for a big vehicle.
FlyingToaster
@Amaranthine RBG: I have NEVER gotten 19mpg in my Sienna. That rating is an unadulturated lie.
I am lucky to get 14 driving on I-90/84/91 for 120 miles. But mostly I’m just crossing Watertown in traffic, 3 miles at a time.
Aleta
@SiubhanDuinne: What? They don’t seem to like the new rules that protect students from predatory colleges?
Elmo
You will pry the keys to my Nissan Titan from my cold, dead fingers.
I got used to driving a pickup when I lived in Mammoth (20′ of snow in 10 days, woo!). I like the height. I like being able to haul mulch, furniture, trash, and anything else I need. Also I have a boat that wants towing.
Cacti
@lamh36:
Not me. I love seeing deplorables get a good rogering from their cult leader.
? Martin
@SiubhanDuinne: Mine as well.
Corner Stone
@hovercraft: Sure. I guess they are not bright enough to get that BigAg just opened a subsidiary called OrganicLove ™ and will be driving them out of the market in a price war in 6 weeks.
Chet Murthy
@Peanut Gallery: Eh. it’s not incompatible with what O’Sullivan said, which was that my President met with a buncha union leaders, amongst whom were building-trades union leaders. But Cheeto Bandito met with -just- the building trades union leaders. All the difference! All the difference!
OlFroth
@FlyingToaster: The guy I saw driving the jacked-up F_450 was a professional football player who wound up shooting himself in the leg with a firearm tucked in his waistband.
Tripod
Let me hazard a guess. Their pensioners are going to take it sans lube.
Adria McDowell (formerly LurkerExtraordinaire)
My husband has an F-150 because he’s an aircraft mechanic and has to have his own tools (including huge toolboxes with a shit ton of tools) to work. He also has to have his snivel gear with him if it’s cold.
We are a pro-union household. We won’t purchase vehicles that aren’t union made. Without unions and “right to work” laws nationally, everyone will be making $2.00 an hour, if they are lucky.
This country is gonna burn, I’m telling ya. Might have to encourage him to look for work overseas.
? Martin
I would like to note that I have not seen any statement out of the White House regarding the mass shooting in Quebec. They’re calling it a terrorist attack, and the WH is apparently acting as if it didn’t happen.
VOR
Trump is known to stiff contractors and known to use non-union foreign labor. I’m sure he promised them a trillion dollar infrastructure package with lots of jobs for their members. But consider his track record!
rikyrah
DL HUGHLEY SAYS THE MOST DANGEROUS THING IN THE WORLD IS A PISSED OFF WHITE MAN
NotMax
@Corner Stone
Quasi-obligatory.
:)
TenguPhule
So the Police and Firefighter enablers will be on the chopping block with all the other unions they’ve thrown under the bus.
Judas Goats, they’re what’s for dinner in Trumperica!
Honus
@OlFroth: the fact that you haul horse manure takes you clear out of the a-hole category for me.
SiubhanDuinne
@? Martin:
I didn’t know that, Martin. Can you elaborate about the impact on you/your job?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@? Martin: I saw Trudeau called out Fox news for their lingering report that the witness who called in the shooting, a Moroccan immigrant, was the shooter. IIRC they left the tweeted headline with his picture up for several hours.
OlFroth
@TenguPhule: I’m a member of a public-sector union, and I’ve been trying to point out that the conservatives are not our friends, but they keep pulling that “R” lever.
OlFroth
@Honus: Best stuff I’ve found for my garden…produces loads of veggies every summer, which leads to days of canning, blanching, and freezing!
? Martin
This will go over well:
Potentially this would serve to deport any legal alien who goes on any form of public assistance within 5 years. Presumably there are no exceptions if they are parents of a US citizen minor.
California is going to throw a colossal shit fit if this goes forward.
Honus
@Amaranthine RBG: you’re kidding about the Tesla, I hope. That’s worse than a spotless undented pickup.
Chet Murthy
@Corner Stone: Every day, brah. Every day.
BBA
@? Martin: That “public charge” language has been there since the Immigration Act of 1882. (Before which, there were open borders, except with China.) This isn’t extralegal, which makes it all the more sickening.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Honus: kidding, trolling… to-may-toe, toe-mah-toe
? Martin
@SiubhanDuinne: I also work at a UC, and my position is paid out of student fees. I work in a number of areas that relate to admissions, financial aid, equal opportunity, etc. I work with DACA students both locally and state-wide, and right now I’m working on sorting out the utter shitshow which is that 15% of my graduate students are Iranian (or other of the 7 nation) nationals here on a visa, and I have 3 Iranian faculty with green cards currently out of the country, and we’re wondering when/if they’ll be able to return.
rikyrah
Trump administration circulates more draft immigration restrictions, focusing on protecting U.S. jobs
By Abigail Hauslohner and Janell Ross January 31 at 5:44 PM
The Trump administration is considering a plan to weed out would-be immigrants who are likely to require public assistance, as well as to deport — when possible — immigrants already living in the United States who depend on taxpayer help, according to a draft executive order obtained by The Washington Post.
A second draft order under consideration calls for a substantial shake-up in the system through which the United States administers immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, with the aim of tightly controlling who enters the country and who can enter the workforce, and reducing the social-services burden on U.S. taxpayers.
The drafts are circulating among administration officials, and it is unclear whether President Trump has decided to move forward with them or when he might sign them if he does decide to put them in place. The White House would not confirm or deny the authenticity of the orders, and White House officials did not respond to requests for comment about the drafts Monday and Tuesday.
If enacted, the executive orders would appear to significantly restrict all types of immigration and foreign travel to the United States, expanding bars on entry to the country that Trump ordered last week with his temporary ban on refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries.
While last week’s move focused on national security and preventing terrorism, the new draft orders would be focused on Trump’s campaign promises to protect American workers and to create jobs, immediately restricting the flow of immigrants and temporary laborers into the U.S. workforce. The administration has accused immigrants who end up receiving U.S. social services of eating up federal resources, and it has said that immigrant workers contribute to unemployment among Americans who were born in the United States.
“Our country’s immigration laws are designed to protect American taxpayers and promote immigrant self sufficiency. Yet households headed by aliens are much more likely than those headed by citizens to use Federal means-tested public benefits,” reads one draft order obtained by The Post, titled “Executive Order on Protecting Taxpayer Resources by Ensuring Our Immigration Laws Promote Accountability and Responsibility.”
TenguPhule
@OlFroth: I’m just laughing bitterly that the traditional right wing supporting unions of law and order who loved those exceptions for themselves from RTW state laws are about to receive the reward a traitor deserves.
America is going to burn. And we’re going to be left sucking ashes from the bones of the dead.
Bishop Bag
@Mr Stagger Lee: Hey! I have a Grateful Dead sticker and and a Long Beach State (Alumni class of 78) sticker on my Toyota Tacoma! Not all pick ups have to have American flags…
TenguPhule
@Corner Stone: Declare war yes, Actually launch an unprovoked attack and keep at it for 30 days without Congressional approval? Cheeto’s fat fingers own that button.
hovercraft
@Amaranthine RBG:
I don’t know enough and neither am I that vested in having an argument over gas mileage. As I said people who drive gas guzzlers just for the hell of it annoy me, that’s my prerogative. Since you feel that you need one, carry on. I didn’t attack you, but you do seem awfully defensive about your F 150.
Truegster
I live in Texas, home of the MASSIVE penis truck. Every. Single. Day.
I hate them and deal with them every day in my two door accord on winding hills in Austin. They never stay in their lane. They always drive both lazy and aggressive, which is because they see everything as a pissin contest on the road. I have seen giant monster trucks which are absolutely ridiculous on purpose. Every. Single. Day.
And about 10% have dents and mud and signs of actual use, if that.
I actually think you have a micro-penis and watch clown porn if you qualify for any of the above, btw.
SteveKnNKY
If the introduce this, they will introduce a bill to kill the Federal minimum wage. The red taker states will continue to leech of the blue producer states.
A Ghost to Most
Hey, pickups are fine and useful tools. Jacking them up until the bumpers are above the average car hood is assholish. Adding special equipment to generate smoke is super assholish. My off road vehicle has a 3″ lift, but is not a danger to small cars.
rikyrah
@Corner Stone:
come sit by me
Karen S.
@Corner Stone:
I like the cut of your jib.
mainmata
There are a lot of pickup driving people who are not a**holes; the ones that are tend not to be blue collar workers in my (albeit limited) experience.
J R in WV
@Bishop Bag:
Nothing wrong with an American flag, as long as it isn’t shown with a Trump sticker.
With a Greatful Dead Sticker, goes quite well. for example. Also with a Hillary! sign, or a Coexist sticker.
LeonS
@Yarrow: Actually that sounds just like my Kia! I guess my Kia has more rough pickup type use that most pickups. Go figure.
low-tech cyclist
The politicians come around, wearing their big stuffed shirts,
we send them off to Washington, where they vote for right-to-work.
-Si Kahn, “Black Gold”
AnonPhenom
Like you John, I’ve spent the last 5 months renovating a house (mine is from the 1920s.) One of the guys I hired for some framing I needed done, Tio, shared a favorite website of his with me. It was on there I saw this post. I think you’ll appreciate it:
‘you can bookmark it’
LOL
AnonPhenom
@AnonPhenom:
And Tio?
He drove a used minivan with all the rear seats removed. The only upgrades were to the suspension system and a roof rack from JC Whitney so he could carry ladders too big to fit in the van because: job.
L.A. Goldenrod
Used Kias, at that. Like, five years old with 150,000 miles on them already.
kindness
I have a Ford F150. It’s our mountain truck, we drive smaller cars for every day use (yea a 3 car household). And while I freely admit that I am indeed an asshole from time to time let me suggest John, you’re broad brush denouncing truck owners is fucked up.