Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

This really is a full service blog.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty. ~Thomas Jefferson

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Also, are you sure you want people to rate your comments?

They spent the last eight months firing professionals and replacing them with ideologues.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Optimism opens the door to great things.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

You are here: Home / Immigration / A President Speaks

A President Speaks

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Barack Obama said that one thing might make him speak out after his presidency ended, and that was if Trump messed with DACA. He does not disappoint. This is his full statement.

Immigration can be a controversial topic. We all want safe, secure borders and a dynamic economy, and people of goodwill can have legitimate disagreements about how to fix our immigration system so that everybody plays by the rules.

But that’s not what the action that the White House took today is about. This is about young people who grew up in America – kids who study in our schools, young adults who are starting careers, patriots who pledge allegiance to our flag. These Dreamers are Americans in their hearts, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper. They were brought to this country by their parents, sometimes even as infants. They may not know a country besides ours. They may not even know a language besides English. They often have no idea they’re undocumented until they apply for a job, or college, or a driver’s license.

Over the years, politicians of both parties have worked together to write legislation that would have told these young people – our young people – that if your parents brought you here as a child, if you’ve been here a certain number of years, and if you’re willing to go to college or serve in our military, then you’ll get a chance to stay and earn your citizenship. And for years while I was President, I asked Congress to send me such a bill.

That bill never came. And because it made no sense to expel talented, driven, patriotic young people from the only country they know solely because of the actions of their parents, my administration acted to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people, so that they could continue to contribute to our communities and our country. We did so based on the well-established legal principle of prosecutorial discretion, deployed by Democratic and Republican presidents alike, because our immigration enforcement agencies have limited resources, and it makes sense to focus those resources on those who come illegally to this country to do us harm. Deportations of criminals went up. Some 800,000 young people stepped forward, met rigorous requirements, and went through background checks. And America grew stronger as a result.

But today, that shadow has been cast over some of our best and brightest young people once again. To target these young people is wrong – because they have done nothing wrong. It is self-defeating – because they want to start new businesses, staff our labs, serve in our military, and otherwise contribute to the country we love. And it is cruel. What if our kid’s science teacher, or our friendly neighbor turns out to be a Dreamer? Where are we supposed to send her? To a country she doesn’t know or remember, with a language she may not even speak?

Let’s be clear: the action taken today isn’t required legally. It’s a political decision, and a moral question. Whatever concerns or complaints Americans may have about immigration in general, we shouldn’t threaten the future of this group of young people who are here through no fault of their own, who pose no threat, who are not taking away anything from the rest of us. They are that pitcher on our kid’s softball team, that first responder who helps out his community after a disaster, that cadet in ROTC who wants nothing more than to wear the uniform of the country that gave him a chance. Kicking them out won’t lower the unemployment rate, or lighten anyone’s taxes, or raise anybody’s wages.

It is precisely because this action is contrary to our spirit, and to common sense, that business leaders, faith leaders, economists, and Americans of all political stripes called on the administration not to do what it did today. And now that the White House has shifted its responsibility for these young people to Congress, it’s up to Members of Congress to protect these young people and our future. I’m heartened by those who’ve suggested that they should. And I join my voice with the majority of Americans who hope they step up and do it with a sense of moral urgency that matches the urgency these young people feel.

Ultimately, this is about basic decency. This is about whether we are a people who kick hopeful young strivers out of America, or whether we treat them the way we’d want our own kids to be treated. It’s about who we are as a people – and who we want to be.

What makes us American is not a question of what we look like, or where our names come from, or the way we pray. What makes us American is our fidelity to a set of ideals – that all of us are created equal; that all of us deserve the chance to make of our lives what we will; that all of us share an obligation to stand up, speak out, and secure our most cherished values for the next generation. That’s how America has traveled this far. That’s how, if we keep at it, we will ultimately reach that more perfect union.

 

 

Reader Interactions

205Comments

  3. 3.

    Trentrunner

    Let’s all remember this kumbaya for a Democrat when that witch Hillary publishes her fucking book soon and the long fucking knives come out and we slash each other to fucking ribbons. Fuck!

  4. 4.

    japa21

    OT except it is about the finest man to hold the office of the Presidency in my life time. With all the Congressional hearings about the whole Russia crap, why have they never called him as a witness? In an open hearing, of course. It would be interesting to hear him talk about how he tried to get McConnell on board with making an announcement and how McConnell refused.

  8. 8.

    efgoldman

    @Trentrunner:

    when that witch Hillary publishes her fucking book soon and the long fucking knives come out and we slash each other to ribbons.

    Anybody that goes there must be ignored and ostracized from the Democratic party.

    Fuckem

  10. 10.

    randy khan

    @japa21:

    So here’s how we do it: The Dems take control of the House in 2018 and impeach both Trump and Pence. Before the Senate finishes the trial, Nancy Pelosi temporarily steps down as Speaker of the House, and the Democrats choose Obama as the Speaker (since you don’t have to be a member of the House to be Speaker). When Trump and Pence are convicted in the trial, Obama becomes President.

    It could happen. Maybe only theoretically, but it could happen.

  11. 11.

    smintheus

    Also, whatever happened to the ‘full faith and credit’ of the federal government? Once you start collecting names and addresses of Dreamers under the promise of DACA, you don’t get to renege and use against them their trust in our government. That’s not just the American way, that’s the way of all civilized countries.

  12. 12.

    efgoldman

    @randy khan:

    Before the Senate finishes the trial, Nancy Pelosi temporarily steps down as Speaker of the House, and the Democrats choose Obama as the Speaker

    We do love our procedural fantasies, don’t we?

  17. 17.

    lamh36

    Ugh…miss him and #ForeverFLOTUS everyday!

    @JoyAnnReid
    Looks like Trump is watching non-Fox TV and not liking his reviews. This is a lame attempt at resetting the narrative.

    @realDonaldTrump

    I look forward to working w/ D’s + R’s in Congress to address immigration reform in a way that puts hardworking citizens of our country 1st.

  18. 18.

    Shalimar

    Obama needs to be speaking out on all of the issues where his policies are being over-turned. I know it is traditional for past presidents not to oppose those holding the office currently, but tradition went out the window with Trump. Barack Obama is the only national figure all non-Trump supporters can agree on. We need his leadership.

  21. 21.

    jl

    An important bit from Obama’s statement. Throw bogus ‘rule of law’ cant back in anyone’s face who tries to peddle it.

    ” Let’s be clear: the action taken today isn’t required legally. It’s a political decision, ”

    But Obama is being overly polite. I wouldn’t insult the word ‘political’ with the cowardly CYA BS Trump is trying to pull. It’s not even political in the sense that it is a coherent tactic to help one side or the other. Just to keep Trump out out the political and human carnage that will occur in the wake of a DACA repeal.

    The Trumpsters sense that they don’t have the public with them on dumping DACA. That is why Trump sent Sessions out to do it, And Sessions larded up his statement with bunch of dishonest and false, and strictly speaking irrelevant, economic boilerplate to support it.

    They are operating from a position of political weakness on this issue, which is what makes saving DACA possible, though still very difficult. We have to take advantage of that weakness.

  23. 23.

    Shalimar

    @randy khan: I am not a constitutional lawyer, but I’m pretty sure that scenario would be illegal. Just as a past 2-term president can’t run as a vice-presidential candidate because it would put him next in line for an unconstitutional 3rd term, I don’t think he could accept appointment to any other position in the line of succession either for the same reason.

  24. 24.

    trollhattan

    @The Dangerman:
    While I’d (selfishly) love it I wouldn’t wish the experience on her in a thousand years. Tenish years of publicly biting her tongue while every conceivable insult was hurled her and her family’s way is enough service to the country.

    Republicans fear her, of course.

  25. 25.

    gene108

    I want to snark, but I can’t. I am not upset at Trump. We knew he’d do this. I am angry at all the assholes, who voted for him. They are responsible for all this suffering.

  27. 27.

    The Dangerman

    It’s a political decision, and a moral question.

    The second clause is our collective problem; Trump is amoral. He will accept a DACA bill if it gives him a wall.

  31. 31.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Trentrunner:

    Let’s all remember this kumbaya for a Democrat when that witch Hillary publishes her fucking book soon and the long fucking knives come out and we slash each other to fucking ribbons. Fuck!

    Not quite sure what to make of this, but I will point out that the power to prevent yourselves from slashing other democrats to ribbons is yours and yours alone.

  36. 36.

    jl

    @chris: Can’t be true. Breaks the 27 percent bottom line crazy barrier. Reality would turn itself inside out and dump itself down the nearest privy if that happened.

  37. 37.

    Mnemosyne

    @lamh36:

    Nah, he’s not resetting — DACA kids are not citizens, so they can DIAF as far as he’s concerned.

    I guarantee you that the next tactic is, Why do you libs care so much about people who aren’t even Americans? You should care about our own people first.

  40. 40.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @japa21:

    With all the Congressional hearings about the whole Russia crap, why have they never called him [Obama] as a witness? In an open hearing, of course. It would be interesting to hear him talk about how he tried to get McConnell on board with making an announcement and how McConnell refused.

    Makes me really wonder whether either Obama or Hillary has had a little sit-down with Bobby Three-Sticks in the past few months. Hillary, after all, was pretty definite about Trump’s Russia collusion in that debate (was it the third one?) — the one where he said “No puppet! No puppet! You’re the puppet!!”

  41. 41.

    cmorenc

    @Booger:

    Make America Great Again–Bring Back Barack!

    If someone would make a hat with that logo, I would buy it in a second and wear it in public every single day. Although dark blue would be a more fitting color for Obama, maybe it should instead be a red matching the Trump ones – the better to induce double-take reactions from the sorts of assholes who wear the Trump version and are momentarily inclined to give you a thumbs-up and a smile until they realize what it says. That is, if the morons can read.

  42. 42.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Ultimately, this is about basic decency.

    Well, that leaves Donald, Dense, and Jayuff high and dry.

  44. 44.

    MomSense

    Text Resist to 504-09 and tell your Congress critters to take action to protect our dreamers. It’s a free fax service and super easy to use.

  45. 45.

    Redshift

    Since I haven’t managed to catch an open thread all day, I’ll drop this here. I get a daily digest of state politics and government news from the Virginia Public Access Project, and I noticed today that there were three op-eds from different parts of the state, all making the argument that really, Confederate statues can be important to “educate” or “be a starting point for an honest discussion.” (Including one from J.E.B. Stewart V, which includes such gems as “My great-great grandfather and many others who fought for the Confederacy never wrote about fighting to preserve the enslavement of other human beings.” Anyway.)

    To me, this suggests they are realizing they lost the “heritage, not hate” argument the moment the Nazis marched in, and they’re looking for a fallback position. But I’ve always been an optimist.

  46. 46.

    vhh

    @The Dangerman: I can imagine giving Trump $500M to explore building a wall, complete with a requirement that it be put to a vote in the states that would host it. Of course, the vote would fail miserably in Texas, for the simple reason that ranchers with property on the border won’t give there land up up. (The entire TX GOP Congressional delegation opposes the wall).

  47. 47.

    japa21

    @Redshift: And actually, there is some merit to the basic argument. The problem is not that there isn’t some historical significance but that those folks should not be given a place of honor in the public venue.

  49. 49.

    JMG

    A niece and nephew of mine attend J.E.B Stuart high school in Fairfax county. As it is a majority-minority district, there is a lot of sentiment to change it to plain old Stuart high school (named after Bonnie Price Charlie I guess). School board told the protestors it’d cost $3 million to do it. That’s some bull right there. They have $3 million worth of old stationery on hand?

  50. 50.

    joel hanes

    @jl:

    Breaks the 27 percent bottom line crazy barrier.

    Cheney’s approval was at 19% when he left office.

    Trump is just the man to break that record.

  51. 51.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Booger: Please!!

    @Redshift: Statues of slave holders can be “educational” on private property. My tax dollars (as a descendant of slaves) shouldn’t go toward maintaining monuments to those who fought for the enslavement of my ancestors. I’m speaking figuratively since I wasn’t born in this country but the principle is the same for all Blacks in the Diaspora.

  54. 54.

    joel hanes

    historical significance

    I’ll be happy to aquiesce in leaving the statues up,
    as long as every single one has a bronze plaque that says,
    in letters each as big as my hand
    TRAITOR FOUGHT AGAINST THE US TO DEFEND SLAVERY

  55. 55.

    Patricia Kayden

    @The Dangerman: No, please let Michelle relax. There is zero reason why she would want to put herself through the racist harassment that her husband endured for 8 years. I’m looking forward to some fresh faces in 2020 as Democratic presidential candidates. Perhaps in a few generations, this country will be ready for another generation of the Obamas and Clintons and Bidens but for now, we need some new folks to step up.

  56. 56.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @JMG:

    A niece and nephew of mine attend J.E.B Stuart high school in Fairfax county.

    One of my good friends attended Nathan Bedford Forrest High School in, or somewhere near, Jacksonville, FL.

    She is curdled with shame about it but until the PTB change the name, there’s not a lot she can do.

  57. 57.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @debbie:

    Interesting to contrast JEBSV with R.E. Lee’s descendent, a pastor, who wants the statues taken down.

    As, I think, does the descendant of Stonewall Jackson.

  58. 58.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Major Major Major Major: Lol!! True. I surely will not be slashing any Democrats to ribbons. I’m exhausted from keeping up with all the nonsense Trump is throwing at us to even think of picking apart anyone on our side. Shame on any other Democrats who can’t figure out who the enemy is that we have to resist and defeat.

  59. 59.

    debbie

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Thanks, I didn’t know that. Apparently, Pastor Lee has met with much resistance from other family members, which makes his stance that much braver.

  60. 60.

    jl

    @Redshift: It’s that they want their self-serving version of history and heritage, not the truth.

    Offer them a deal, make a historic park out of some of the monuments. For statutes that were put up to celebrate Jim Crow, put big explainer signs, as big as the statue, explaining when and why the statue was put up. If there are still old plaques around (as there are for the statues recently removed in New Orleans) explaining that the statues were celebrations of the restoration of 100 percent white political rule, display those and use them to explain what the monuments were really for. Put up a monument to emancipation of slaves and memorial of victims of Jim Crow and Lynch Law next to the confederate statue. See what their reaction is.

    Or, if you want to really dig under their skin, ask why there are no statues, no not one damn one anywhere in the South, to confederate generals who worked with the federal government during reconstruction to help African-Americans freedman get their rights participate in society as citizens. James Longstreet is one. Ask why no monuments to them. Offer to put up a go fund me page for a Longstreet monument in his town, see how eager he is. (he won’t be, Longstreet is considered a race traitor, though none will say it out loud).

    They are just peddling BS. They want their own fake heritage and history, not the truth.

  64. 64.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @Shalimar:

    Oh hell no!

    It’s time for other Democrats to step up and challenge Trump and speak truth to stupidity.

    We can’t count on the great sky daddy from Hawaii to save us.

    If you have statements from BHO, HRC and, say, Sherrod Brown or Kamala Harris – who is going to the the 10 seconds of airtime?

  65. 65.

    debbie

    @chris:

    Thanks. I didn’t want to get my hopes up unnecessarily.

    Apparently, a number of CEOs are issuing statements criticizing this decision. Just like they criticized Trump’s Charlottesville statements. And probably like they’ll criticize Trump’s eventual decision on healthcare.

  69. 69.

    MomSense

    If anyone tried to send a fax, be patient. The service is really busy (yay!) so it is taking a little longer.

  70. 70.

    randy khan

    @Shalimar:

    First, I think the conclusion that a former two-term President can’t run for VP is not entirely certain. But more important for this fantasy scenario, the reason that people argue that a former two-term President can’t run for VP is that the VP is required to be qualified to run for President. (It says so right there in the Constitution.) The Speaker is not required to be qualified to run for President (or even to be President). This matters because one of the quirks of the 22nd Amendment is that it affect only the ability of someone to *run* for President, not the ability of someone to *be* President. In fact, under the 22nd Amendment, Obama also could be appointed to be VP if there were a vacancy in the office, and succeed to the Presidency if the then-President died in office or resigned.

  72. 72.

    rikyrah

    uh huh

    They Know They Can’t Win; They Just Want Black and Brown People to Lose Too

    Damon YoungToday 2:41pm

    Perhaps the biggest fallacy in characterizing the type of person who
    supported and still supports Donald Trump—one that I’ve been guilty of believing and sharing myself—is that the type of person he appeals to lacks the sophistication to realize that his promises of returning long-dead American jobs in steel and coal and manufacturing aren’t just lies. They’re impossible. They are never, ever, ever coming back.

    Of course, we (and by “we” I mean “everyone apparently, except New York Times columnists”) have accepted that these people understood the latent racial dog whistling in Trump’s messaging. Making America great again is a succinct assurance that jobs and opportunities would be returned to the people who deserve them by white birthright. And while this race-based presumption of merit is abhorrent, it is understandable if they sincerely believe that the only way for them to do better is for usto do worse.

    But as the Trump administration prepares to phase out DACA—which protects at least 800,000 undocumented immigrants from deportation—please know that the people who support this terrible and evil act know that removing immigrants like those protected by DACA from America won’t resurrect those dead fucking jobs in those dead fucking cities. They know that the American manufacturing ship been sailed, and that Trump’s bitch ass is lying. Do not allow yourself to infantilize them or believe that there’s any nobility in their beliefs. Perhaps they’re ignorant about certain facts, but they understand the psychology of their president’s platform. They don’t give a damn about bettering their own
    fucking lives. They just want ours to suck, too.

    Fuck them all.

  73. 73.

    Elizabelle

    OT, but did you guys catch Garrison Keillor’s column this week? You will like it. Calls Texas (Ted Cruz, that is) and conservatives out for hypocrisy, for the “rugged individual” trope (government is the problem, etc.)

    WaPost: When a red state gets the blues

    The Republic of Texas believes in self-reliance and is suspicious of Washington sticking its big nose in your business. “Government is not the answer. You are not doing anyone a favor by creating dependency, destroying individual responsibility.” So said Sen. Ted Cruz (R), though not last week. Sunday on Fox News, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said Texas would need upward of $150 billion in federal aid for damage inflicted by Harvey. The stories out of Houston have all been about neighborliness and helping hands and people donating to relief funds, but you don’t raise $150 billion by holding bake sales. This is almost as much as the annual budget of the U.S. Army. I’m just saying.

    I’m all in favor of pouring money into Texas, but I am a bleeding-heart liberal who favors single-payer health care. How is being struck by a hurricane so different from being hit by cancer? I’m only asking.

    Houstonians chose to settle on a swampy flood plain barely 50  feet above sea level. The risks of doing so are fairly clear. If you chose to live in a tree and the branch your hammock was attached to fell down, you wouldn’t ask for a government subsidy to hang your hammock in a different tree.

    …. Similarly, if a desert state such as Arizona expects the feds to solve its water shortage, as Sen. Jeff Flake (R) suggested recently, by guaranteeing Arizona first dibs on Lake Mead, this strikes me as a departure from conservative principles. Lake Mead, and Boulder Dam, which created it, were not built by Lake Mead Inc., but by the federal government. The residents of Phoenix decided freely to settle in an arid valley, and they have used federal water supplies to keep their lawns green. Why should we Minnesotans, who chose to live near water, subsidize golf courses on the desert? You like sunshine? Fine. Take responsibility for your decision and work out a deal with Perrier to keep yourselves hydrated.

    Arizona is populated by folks who dread winter and hate having to shovel snow. In Minnesota, we recognize that snow is a form of water and that it’s snowmelt that replenishes the aquifers. So we make a rational decision to live here. A warm, dry winter is a sort of disaster for us, but we don’t apply to Washington for hankies. If we made a decision to live underwater on a coral reef off Hawaii, we wouldn’t expect the feds to provide us with Aqua-Lungs. If we chose to fly to the moon and play among the stars and spend spring on Jupiter and Mars and we got lost out there, we wouldn’t expect NASA to come rescue us. Get my drift here?

    WTG, Garrison. An antidote to Habermanitis and Deadly Thrush.

  74. 74.

    chris

    @debbie: The US dollar index dropped a quarter point (that’s a big move) while Sessions was speaking. Don’t want to read too much into it but…

  75. 75.

    TenguPhule

    @randy khan:

    When Trump and Pence are convicted in the trial,

    Minor quibble. Senate has to convict. Our chances of flipping that in 2018 are less then optimal.

  76. 76.

    TenguPhule

    @smintheus:

    Also, whatever happened to the ‘full faith and credit’ of the federal government?

    Destined for the dung heap at the end of this month if the Republicans fuck up the debt ceiling vote.

  77. 77.

    bemused

    I’m hearing Morrisette singing Isn’t it Ironic in my head. The more Trump tries to obliterate Obama’s policies and popularity, the more people love and miss Obama and Michelle.

  79. 79.

    Jeffro

    @Elizabelle:

    Take responsibility for your decision and work out a deal with Perrier to keep yourselves hydrated.

    My kids are wondering why I’m laughing here…love it!

  80. 80.

    trollhattan

    @Redshift:
    Suppose the pivoting (there’s that word) of their defense could indicate they’re off-balance and perhaps even crumbling. You wouldn’t see that happen in Alabama.

    As a counteroffer, each Confederate traitor statue must be surrounded by statues of Frederick Douglass (texting on an iphone), Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Aretha Franklin and H. Rap Brown.

  81. 81.

    Cacti

    Since today has otherwise been a total pisser, here’s a happy factoid:

    Today’s the 60th birthday of On The Road.

    People will still be reading it when Trump is gone.

  83. 83.

    jl

    @Elizabelle: Saw a news item that Abbott is refusing to call TX state leg special session to tap state emergency funds. So, if that still holds, the state government isn’t allocating anything special for the emergency until 2019. Maybe the TX GOP figures that will keep the state government’s hands clean on creating dependency. They can blame it all on the Uncle Sugar, who will be sending the money in the meanwhile.

  86. 86.

    TenguPhule

    @jl:

    Saw a news item that Abbott is refusing to call TX state leg special session to tap state emergency funds. So, if that still holds, the state government isn’t allocating anything special for the emergency until 2019.

    Yep, 10 Billion dollar RAINY DAY FUND.

    Which that grifting fuckhead won’t tap after 5 days of actual fucking rain.

    I forsee problems getting federal money to Texas when Senators start bitching about it.

    The NE Republicans especially are going to love a chance to play “skin in the game, bitches”.

  87. 87.

    TenguPhule

    Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s provocative veiled threat to Congress

    In the first White House briefing since the administration announced the phasing out of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a remarkable challenge to lawmakers: They need to pass something on immigration, she said repeatedly, or else.

    “That’s their job,” she said, “and if they can’t do it, then they need to get out of the way and let somebody else who can take on a heavy lift and get things accomplished.”

    She repeated: “Again, if they can’t, then they should get out of the way and let somebody else take their job that can actually get something done.”

    And then: “Again, if Congress doesn’t want to do the job that they were elected to do, then maybe they should get out of the way and let someone else do it.”

    This…is not normal.

  88. 88.

    Patricia Kayden

    @VOR: Which is what should have happened to all Confederate statues by at least the late 1960s. I’m amazed that taking them down from public property is an issue in 2017 for dang sake. But here we are.

  89. 89.

    Comrade Scrutinizer

    @rikyrah: This is not a new insight. Blll Moyers wrote of something LBJ told him:

    . “I’ll tell you what’s at the bottom of it,” he said. “If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.”

  90. 90.

    Elizabelle

    @TenguPhule: The Possum Queen.

    Out playing in traffic.

    ETA: Is PQ advocating for electing more Democrats, who DO get things done? If so, I heartily endorse that.

  91. 91.

    jl

    @TenguPhule: uh.. maybe I am showing my ignorance here, but I don’t think anyone else is available to get the job done over the next 6 months? Am I missing something?

    Edit: I wonder if Sanders knows someone who could help out?

  92. 92.

    Patricia Kayden

    @TenguPhule: How is that a threat? If Congress does nothing, which is likely given the infamous Republican inability to govern, then what happens next? Trump proposes legislation? Trump signs another DACA-related Executive Order? What? I swear that Trump and his sycophants are trying to drive us over the bend.

  93. 93.

    TenguPhule

    @jl:

    but I don’t tihnk anyone else is available to get the job done over the next 6 months? Am I missing something?

    I may be wrong, but it sounded to me like a call to abolish the Senate and let the regional governors maintain order through fear of this battle station.

  96. 96.

    ? Martin

    Well, today sucked. There’s really nothing you can say to assure these individuals. California will look out for the Dreamers as best as we can, but when the federal government invites you to a program and then promises to use your own volunteered information to deport you, well, the credibility of every public servant pretty much goes to shit.

    The calls started at 8:15.

  97. 97.

    Ksmiami

    We cannot live on as a nation with the current incarnation of the GOP. And the Democratic leadership needs to recognize this reality before it’s too late. There’s a time to go high, but there’s a time to fight back and a dignity in doing so.

  99. 99.

    MCA1

    @joel hanes: Yes. I can’t stand how all these apologists miss/obfuscate the most basic starting point: when you put up a statue of someone, the overwhelming implication is that you’re holding them up as a hero. It’s a huge, permanent, unequivocal thumbs up, not the “starting point for a discussion.” Discussion with whom? The existence of the statue itself speaks for society generally, saying “We’ve decided this person is so great we’re going to honor them.”

    So, yeah, I’d be good with your suggestion, because it goes some distance toward overriding the presumption. But I’d be even more OK without explanatory plaques so long as a statue of either Grant or Sherman is erected a few feet away from every Confederate general statue, leering over them on a pedestal 24-36 inches higher, with statues commemorating freed slaves fighting with the Union standing beside them. The crackers who put up their Forrest statue didn’t need words to convey how they felt about him, and we don’t need words to denote “Took up arms in defense of chattel slavery. Betrayed his country. Got his ass kicked.”

  100. 100.

    Mnemosyne

    @TenguPhule:

    That’s not a threat. It’s another way to duck responsibility for the mess Trump just created. Hey, this wouldn’t even be a problem if Congress had just done their jobs! Did you ever think of that, huh? Don’t blame us, it’s Congress’s fault.

  104. 104.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @Patricia Kayden:
    I think the WaPo had an infographic a couple of weeks ago showing that many of them were not even erected until the mid 1960s. Presumably in reaction to all that civil rights agitation going on.

    Maybe it was in the Atlantic.

  105. 105.

    trollhattan

    @? Martin:
    It’s already underway, the AG’s official statement.

    SACRAMENTO – In the wake of the announcement by Attorney General Jeff Sessions asserting that the Trump Administration will rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, initiative, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today announced that he is prepared to sue the Administration over its decision.

    “President Trump has turned his back on hundreds of thousands of children and young Americans who came forward and put their trust in our government. But in terminating DACA, the Trump Administration has also violated the Constitution and federal law,” said Attorney General Becerra. “This Administration has chosen to ignore what American voters have said they think is right. Nearly 80 percent of voters want to protect the legal status of Dreamers. Ending the program is devastating not just for recipients, but for our economy. California businesses would lose more than a billion dollars in turnover costs. Attorney General Sessions claims this decision is full of ‘compassion,’ but real compassion would be treating Dreamers ‘with heart,’ as President Trump himself said. California is taking action because one in four DACA grantees live in our great state. I will do everything I can to fight for them.”

    .

  109. 109.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @LurkerNoLonger:
    Heh, I don’t think even John Prine would say he’s a great singer.

    He tells the story about when he went in for treatment of his throat cancer that the Doc was fan and told him that he made a custom shield to protect Prince’s vocal cords from the radiation. Prine says he responded “Thanks, Doc, but have you heard me sing?”

  111. 111.

    Patricia Kayden

    @HumboldtBlue: @trollhattan: Two great Bonnie Raitt collaborations. She sure has a gorgeous voice. I’m not sure if she’s considered to be a Country Singer but I grew up listening to her on pop radio. Have always thought that she was one of the great voices.

  113. 113.

    Van Buren

    @Redshift: My son, who lives in deep red SW Va., says he wants to start a GoFundMe to raise money to put up statues of Grant and Sherman throughout the South. Because that part of the heritage seems to be ignored, for some reason.

  116. 116.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    @Patricia Kayden: My tax dollars as a descendant of slave owners shouldn’t go toward maintaining those monuments.

    I’ll make exceptions depending on the specific circumstances. There’s one on the UNC campus that is a unique statue for whom the model’s name is known; I think it’s a good candidate for a museum. Accompanied by the horrific dedication speech.

    But the giant tchochkes? One or two in museums as examples of Lost Causer kitsch. Recycle the rest.

  120. 120.

    Elizabelle

    Andy Borowitz:

    Eight Hundred Thousand People with Dreams to be Deported by One with Delusions

    According to reports, U.S. residents who have obtained advanced degrees, served in the military, and saved people from Hurricane Harvey will be kicked out of the country by a man who believes that his microwave is spying on him.

  122. 122.

    cain

    @vhh:

    @The Dangerman: I can imagine giving Trump $500M to explore building a wall, complete with a requirement that it be put to a vote in the states that would host it. Of course, the vote would fail miserably in Texas, for the simple reason that ranchers with property on the border won’t give there land up up. (The entire TX GOP Congressional delegation opposes the wall).

    If Dems were evil, they could goad Trump to attack the Texas GOP about the wall. That should work out really well. Maybe then some of those Texas Trump supporters will wake their ass up especially when they start get pilloried by their fellow conservatives because of eminent domain. Starting a fight within the ranks is something that needs to be done as part of Democratic #resist movement.

  123. 123.

    debbie

    @TenguPhule:

    Kasich moans and moans about the opioid crisis, but refuses to touch the rainy day fund. What is it with these GOOPER Govs? Do they think they can take it with them?

  124. 124.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @raven:

    I need to go to hipper venues, I guess, since I’ve seen him 4x and not seen that.

    I went over and looked at his site and they sell flyswatters – heh.

  127. 127.

    TenguPhule

    @debbie:

    What is it with these GOOPER Govs? Do they think they can take it with them?

    Its been suggested they’re saving it for more tax cuts.

  129. 129.

    cain

    @debbie:
    Microsoft’s statement was pretty awesome. Basically saying “You’ll have to go through us if you’re going to try take any of our employees”

    The tech industry has turned into one big resist movement since of all sectors they are the ones that have become the most progressive. That’s because a progressive society is what is required for them to be successful. The employees also reflect great diversity.

  131. 131.

    debbie

    @TenguPhule:

    Funny. Kasich beat his Dem opponent bloody because he had drained the fund to help unemployed Ohioans during the financial crisis. What a prick he is.

  133. 133.

    Mnemosyne

    @Patricia Kayden:

    And the ones that were put up earlier than the 1960s were put up as Jim Crow laws were being passed, so an “eff you” to Black citizens in that case, too.

  135. 135.

    jl

    @debbie:

    My degenerate culture of dependency blue state has a process for tapping state funds for disaster relief for local governments that need help. They fill out an application and start getting funds after a review. Look up ‘California Disaster Assistance Act’. I hope TX is at least doing that much.

    I can’t find a history of allocations. I’m sure it’s far smaller than total federal disaster relief to CA. Along with LA and TX, and some others, CA uses a lot, more than most. But not in top ten most years. Anyway, if the feds shell out to CA, CA has already thrown in some dough.

    And Jerry is a real tightwad.

  136. 136.

    Ksmiami

    Not to put too fine a point on it but to be a Republican today is to be a very bad person. Trump is them, they are Trump and the remaining decent people must stop them at every possible turn.

  139. 139.

    Major Major Major Major

    @cain:

    The tech industry has turned into one big resist movement since of all sectors they are the ones that have become the most progressive. That’s because a progressive society is what is required for them to be successful. The employees also reflect great diversity.

    Don’t tell that to the poor, discriminated-against libertarian bros in their midst!

  140. 140.

    p.a.

    bin Laden understood us. He knew there was a reservoir cesspool of racists here to manipulate. He just thought racism fueled foreign wars would be the main mechanism to cripple us. Don’t think he expected internal rot first, led by a major political party. Putin is on board with it of course.

  143. 143.

    efgoldman

    @Elizabelle:

    by a man who believes that his microwave is spying on him.

    I thought that was Kelly Anne, around the same time as she uncovered the Bowling Green Massacree.

  145. 145.

    cain

    Speaking of disasters, thanks to a 15 year old kid shooting illegal fireworks, our beautiful Columbia River Gorge is on fire. Portland is covered in ash and about 5000 people need to be evacuated. He and his friends laughed and giggled as their little fireworks went down into wilderness and eventually catching fire. Now that area is no longer a place we can hike, hell most of the gorge is probably going to be un-hikeable for some time to come. The fire is still 0% contained and they think it will take all month to get it contained. Thanks, kid.

  146. 146.

    weaselone

    @MCA1:

    I think we should use statues of Philip Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, Texas and Louisiana in lieu of Grant and Sherman.

  148. 148.

    efgoldman

    @cain:

    The fire is still 0% contained and they think it will take all month to get it contained. Thanks, kid.

    Have they identified the asshole kids? Picked them up and put them in juvie? Prosecuted the parents?
    Actions have to have consequences. And i don’t want to hear any “they’re really good kids who just made a mistake” bullshit.

    Fuckem

  149. 149.

    WaterGirl

    @tobie: Trump as president is basically the United States playing Russian roulette. It must be devastating for our allied countries to watch this county’s descent into madness. For those of us who believe in democracy and equality, it’s agonizing.

    I suspect that by tomorrow I will be mad as hell about DACA, but for today all I feel is tremendous sorrow.

  150. 150.

    Kelly

    @efgoldman: They were interviewed by police at the trailhead. Oregon State Police and US Attorney are investigating. Authorities want to interview witnesses. Press reports of a confession in the initial interview. Not an attorney but wondering if it’s admissible.

  151. 151.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @jl:

    And Jerry is a real tightwad.

    Yeah, he’s gotten that way in his old age. Remember when he wanted to start California’s own space program back in the 70’s and was called Governor Moonbeam?

  154. 154.

    TS

    @Mnemosyne:

    Canada is apparently offering asylum for Dreamers.

    trump is about to close the northern border – not to keep people out – to keep people in – so he can deport them out.

  156. 156.

    Mnemosyne

    @cain:

    Ugh. At least our nasty So Cal fire seems to be due to natural causes.

    We had one like that in Griffith Park a few years ago, though. Little shits playing with firecrackers.

  157. 157.

    Kelly

    Firefighting in the Columbia Gorge is exceptionally difficult. Steep terrain and tight side canyons are traps in a wild fire. The Gorge is famous for strong wind. A spark jumped the Columbia river into Washington last night. The fire jumped the biggest river on the US west coast.

  159. 159.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Yeah, and now he wants to pour billions into high speed trains between Fresno and Modesto and, as a pay off to the farmers who are going to lose their land to right of ways, he’s pushing through the Delta tunnels project which is going to be the final nail in the delta ecosystem.

    I get that he’s measuring himself against his father and wants to have some signature history changing public works project, but these are just really, really lousy choices.

  161. 161.

    lamh36

    I see Obama call out got in his head!

    @JamilSmith 2m

    1. Revisit, how?
    2. DACA is legal. You refuse to defend it.
    3. It’d be Congress’s win, not yours.
    4. The Obama mention speaks volumes.

    @realDonaldTrump
    Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can’t, I will revisit this issue!

  162. 162.

    TenguPhule

    And so it begins. Will Republicans fuck us all over the debt ceiling, stay tuned!

    Senate leaders are prepared to vote this week on legislation that would pair an increase in the federal government’s borrowing limit with $7.9 billion in disaster relief for victims of Hurricane Harvey despite opposition from conservatives.

    But of course…..

    The opposition of the roughly 40 Freedom Caucus members would not necessarily prevent the bill from passing, given that most Democrats are expected to support it. But it could exacerbate tensions among House Republicans and raise the specter that the bill could pass without a majority of the majority party — violating an informal rule that House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) had pledged to adhere to when he became speaker in 2015.

    And none of the brilliant minds bothered to talk to the Democrats for imput.

    Democrats also have not signed off on the plan, in part because Ryan and McConnell have not yet committed to how long the debt-limit increase would last. Senate Minority Leader Charles. E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Sunday that they are willing to consider the plan, but they did not commit to providing the votes necessary to ensure that the bill can pass without conservative support.

    Juggling flaming chainsaws in a room full of banana peels.

  163. 163.

    jl

    @lamh36:

    ” Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can’t, I will revisit this issue! ”

    OK, save that sucker for sixth months from now, when likely Congress will fall on its ass and do nothing. We’ll be lucky if we are paying any bills.

    Maybe Trump will show the black guy who’s who by re-issuing the exact same order, with a few words changed and Trump’s name at the top. And most importantly, sign it with a bigger… um… really really bigger pen, than Obama used?
    If so, that is some ‘so much winning’ that I could actually thank Trump for.

    Edit: Come to think of it, if Congress totally messes up budget and debt limit, maybe we won’t have any money to pay ICE to deport people anyway.

  166. 166.

    lamh36

    the muthaphucka backtracking already…one damn day of bad press…

    dumb fuq…Jeff Sessions and GOP State AG forced his damn hand and his dum azz went along with it.

    He thought having KKKeebler Elf make the annoucement he wouldn’t get dragged for it…but nope he’s being dragged ALL DAY!

    Add to it Obama blitzing his azz today…

  168. 168.

    TenguPhule

    @jl:

    Come to think of it, if Congress totally messes up budget and debt limit, maybe we won’t have any money to pay ICE to deport people anyway.

    Obviously their solution is to strip the gold fillings from their teeth and make the deported pay for it.

  172. 172.

    jl

    @lamh36: Happens when you have to no plan,don’t understand what is going on, and can’t plan, and have blown what political capital you had on BS.

    If Canada is smart enough to accept a hundred thousand or so, Trump will notice that another country is getting something from us, for nothing, and laughing all the way to the bank. So, maybe that will make Trump reconsider.

    Or, being Trump, he’ll try to declare war on Canada. Who knows?

  173. 173.

    TenguPhule

    Somebody please tell me this is some kind of fucking joke.

    When Trump staged his first event to promote his tax reform proposal, in Missouri last week, he attacked that state’s Democratic senator, Claire McCaskill.

    But when he takes his tax-cuts road show to stop No. 2, in North Dakota on Wednesday, he is expected to pull his punches on that state’s Democratic senator, Heidi Heitkamp.

    That is because Heitkamp will be a special guest in Trump’s traveling delegation, jetting with him from Washington aboard Air Force One in what the White House is trumpeting as the first indication of bipartisan support for overhauling the tax code.

    Trump will be touting his tax plan at the Andeavor oil refinery in Heitkamp’s hometown of Mandan, just outside of Bismarck, the state capital.

    The Democratic senator is expected to face a difficult challenge for reelection next year in a state Trump carried in 2016 by 36 percentage points, one of his biggest margins of victory. So Heitkamp may see a political advantage in being friendly with Trump and open to his ideas, even if she does not ultimately vote to pass his agenda.

    WHAT THE HELL?!

  177. 177.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:
    I don’t hate trains.

    I do hate the idea of spending 70 or 80 billion dollars on a vanity project that will get you from SF to LA (at best) in 3 hours of travel time when you can fly there in an hour. Oh, yeah it will allow everybody to zip between Gilroy and Merced or Tulare and Bakersfield and when people arrive they can just walk around those marvelously pedestrian-friendly locales, right? Dumbass.

    And, like I said, the worst part of this boondoggle is that Brown is using the delta tunnels to pay off central valley ag interests to get their backing.

    I guess you are one of those people who think that the Delta ecosystem is just too coddled, right? Seriously, fuck you.

  179. 179.

    mai naem mobile

    @TenguPhule: Heidtkamps in a tough spot. If this helps her keep her seat let her. We have to worry about Menendez right now on top of the ’18 tough races. You got McCaskill,Tester anf Manchin to deal with. I think Donnelly as well. We can’t be picky about what kind of Dem you can get as long as theu vote for Shiner for leader. Think big tent. Yuuuge tent.

  180. 180.

    TenguPhule

    @mai naem mobile:

    If this helps her keep her seat let her.

    Giving Trump a break on gutting taxes is asking for trouble. Saving the seat only to lose the whole country isn’t exactly a winning trade off. We can’t give those stupid media shits the chance to say “look, both sides!” on this. The national finances are already bad enough without making them worse.

  183. 183.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @chris:

    Did you hear Prine talking about about Steve Goodman and his big break? There’s a version on the Maron podcast.

    Kris Kristofferson heard Steve Goodman and and approached him and said “Man, you’re great, we should get you signed to a label” Goodman replied, “No, you know who is great? John Prine, we should go see him” They pile in a taxi and get to Prine show that just ended.

    Prine unpacks his guitar and sits in an empty club and replays his set for Kristofferson and Prine got signed right after that.

    At least that’s the way Prine tells it, sort of.

    Here’s one of my favorites:

    youtube.com/watch?v=F5axlwCBXC8

    The las time I saw him he was touring with Jason Isbel and Amanda Shires and Isbel really hammed it up in the background reacting to some of the lines between Prine and (Isbel’s wife) Shires.

  185. 185.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    You think 80 billion in high speed rail connecting pedestrian hating cities is a good idea? Really?

    And do you deny that the Delta Tunnels will destroy the Delta?

    Do you grow almonds or work as an engineer for Caltrans? Because those are the only groups in favor of this idiocy.

  186. 186.

    japa21

    @TenguPhule: Although it says nothing about agreeing with Trump’s tax proposals. In fact, it intimates that she is quite likely to be playing Trump for a chump. Using him to help her get reelected while not voting for his proposals. If that is what is going through her mind, I applaud her.

  187. 187.

    TenguPhule

    @japa21:

    Although it says nothing about agreeing with Trump’s tax proposals. In fact, it intimates that she is quite likely to be playing Trump for a chump. Using him to help her get reelected while not voting for his proposals.

    Standing by him silently while he lies and bullshits gives him cover. I wish things didn’t work that way.

    But our fucking media……

  188. 188.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Amaranthine RBG:

    You think 80 billion in high speed rail connecting pedestrian hating cities is a good idea? Really?

    Yes, our current airports won’t be able to handle anticipated traffic and they can’t easily be expanded. I don’t know about up north, but LA is becoming much more pedestrian friendly(“Nobody Walks in LA” just ain’t true no more). I think rail is a better alternative for under 500 mile travel, other countries seem to think so as well.

    And do you deny that the Delta Tunnels will destroy the Delta?

    Don’t know. Do you have another way to get water to the northern pumping station for the CA Water Project? Because, if you don’t; we might as well just dynamite the whole damn thing. The is the updated version of the Peripheral Canal that was pushed the governor* in the late 70’s, we should have built it then. It should have been part of the original CA Water Project.

    *Believe his name was Brown.

  189. 189.

    PIGL

    @WaterGirl: I think for those of us who believe in democracy, it’s time to reconsider its necessary conditions.

    Universal suffrage
    Unrestricted political speech
    Unlimited private wealth.

    At least one of these has to go.

    It’s time also to ask ourselves how many battalions it would take to arrest the Koch’s and Mercer and the rest.

  190. 190.

    catclub

    @lamh36: My suggestion for improving the world is getting news people in New Orleans to switch from saying Jeff Davis to Traitor Davis.
    I think the most likely ones to do it first would not be white folks. Just a thought.
    Start with traffic reports and build from there.

  191. 191.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Re the Tunnels: This is the old there is too much traffic so we just need to add lanes to the freeway fallacy. The solution to CA’s water crisis to to stop subsidizing the millions of gallons that go to agriculture. You say you don’ know whether the tunnels will destroy the Delta. If you give a shit about the environment – you might want to look into that because they most assuredly will.

    And CA ain’t Europe. Completely different development patterns. European cities developed around rail, not an interstate highway system. It’s silly to just try to graft high speed rail onto the skeleton that was developed by cars. Serious question: have you ever been to Stockton, Manteca, Gilroy, Bakersfield, Fresno or Merced?

  192. 192.

    MCA1

    @weaselone: Works for me. I’m also in favor of seeing Gen. Thomas wherever folks see fit. Not only was he a native Virginian who chose not to commit treason, but he saw right through the Lost Cause bullshit the moment it started while he worked to help fight the proto-klan and protect freed former slaves:

    “The greatest efforts made by the defeated insurgents since the close of the war have been to promulgate the idea that the cause of liberty, justice, humanity, equality, and all the calendar of the virtues of freedom, suffered violence and wrong when the effort for southern independence failed. This is, of course, intended as a species of political cant, whereby the crime of treason might be covered with a counterfeit varnish of patriotism, so that the precipitators of the rebellion might go down in history hand in hand with the defenders of the government, thus wiping out with their own hands their own stains; a species of self-forgiveness amazing in its effrontery, when it is considered that life and property—justly forfeited by the laws of the country, of war, and of nations, through the magnanimity of the government and people—was not exacted from them.”

    I mean, that fucking nails it, damn near a hundred fifty years before that cancer metastisized to bring us the 2016 election.

  193. 193.

    satby

    @HumboldtBlue: dead thread, but you gave me a chance to reminisce a bit about hanging out seeing Prine and the other Old Town folkies back in the early 70s at Earl’s. I wandered to the clip from last year of Prine singing with Stephen Colbert on the Late Show last year, and I nearly cried at seeing how aged Prine looks. Great songwriter, and those were heady days.

  194. 194.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Amaranthine RBG: Obviously, you don’t know much about water policy in this state. A good proportion of farming water comes from the federal Central Valley Project and it’s heavily subsidized. Do you have another solution to keep salt water out of the northern pumping station? This was seen as a problem that needed to be solved back the late 70’s and we kicked the can down the road, we have to solve it now.

    So we should just forget about rail since we have cars and freeways? Damn that’s stupid. And yes, I’ve been to all those cities. I’ve lived in this state for almost 60 years and we used to travel up to see family in WA and an almost annual basis prior to I-5 opening though the Central Valley.

    ETA: Again, why do you hate trains?

  199. 199.

    KarenFC

    @SiubhanDuinne:
    it’s in Jacksonville, and they recently changed the name, finally. It had to be done without a vote because there was never a majority in favor of changing the name. My grandson goes to Robert E Lee high school in Jacksonville. Both Forrest and Lee are majority African American student population, both were named in the 50’s.

  200. 200.

    randy khan

    @Amaranthine RBG:

    I have no opinion on the tunnels, but I find that there are a lot of people who say they have nothing against trains who nevertheless never actually are for them.

    And it’s not wrong to build train stations in towns that aren’t walkable, as there are many reasons to bring mass transit to a community.

  201. 201.

    J R in WV

    @trollhattan:

    Dear Dog! She wouldn’t be expected to bite her tongue when people make scurrilous remarks about her and her family. She should cast the darkest, total eclipse shade upon them, put them in the place they aspire to, that of hateful bigots lying out of desperation. Then have them fired and their pension and health care revoked, and send them to hm, Nicaragua? Oh, OH, I know, the farthest southernmost parts of Chile, where they can watch the Straits of Magellan for a rescue ship manned by Trump’s kids.

  202. 202.

    Bruce K

    A strange thought keeps surfacing in my head when I see the contrast between Obama and his successor.

    That thought is that Obama ran for President eight years too soon.

  204. 204.

    sukabi

    @cain: the air is thick with smoke and ash all the way up the I-5 corridor. Air so thick the sun was just a glowing deep orange orb. Ugh.

  205. 205.

    Applejinx

    This is all good but justice is not conditional on being the best and the brightest (neither is basic survival, with or without ‘a good job’).

    These things are for all citizens.

    I realise that framing it in this way, that the people being attacked are far from being ‘thugs’, is a practical way to make the argument. I get that the Dreamers are often exceptional. But you don’t HAVE to be ‘exceptional’ to deserve justice. And even though we’re dealing with outright evil people, I don’t like bargaining with them by saying ‘okay, will you have mercy on the people you think should just die, if they try REALLY HARD to impress you with how virtuous they are?’

    Still impressed with how well Obama understands his situation and what can practically be done. Still table-flippingly upset with how little that is and how thrilled people are with it. Talk to me when his rhetoric has even managed to spare the BEST and most exceptional dreamer from being rounded up by ICE thugs and thrown out of the country. It seems like he’s got nothing to lose and doesn’t need to go ‘look how best and brightest they are’.

    Far fucking cry from ‘I lift my lamp beside the golden door’.

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