#us politics

alex51324:

magicalgirlmindcrank:

alittledropofheaven:

She/her also personally fought against transwomen in prison seeking gender affirmation surgery…

Here’s an article that gives more details on the story, and what Harris said about it.  The key points:

• It was the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation that refused the surgery to the inmates.  When the inmates fought the policy in court, as Attorney General of California, it was Harris’s jobto represent the Department.  Yes, she did it, but it wasn’t something she decided on her own to do.  (Also, not for nothing, the inmates won the case.)
• Her characterization of the episode:   “On that issue I will tell you I vehemently disagree and in fact worked behind the scenes to ensure that the Department of Corrections would allow transitioning inmates to receive the medical attention that they required, they needed and deserved,” Harris said.
• A policy now exists for inmates to receive transition-related care in California prisons (although apparently the DoC isn’t doing a great job of holding up its end of the bargain*–quelle surprise).  

(*For the record, Harris finished her time as AG and became a Senator shortly after this agreement was reached, so it’s someone else’s job now to enforce it.) 

The thing to keep in mind here is that, as Attorney General, Kamala Harris couldn’t wave her hand and have everything in the entire California Department of Justice go exactly as she wanted it–and she won’t be able to as Vice President, either.  We currently have a president who thinksthat’s how it works, and we’re damned lucky he’s wrong.  

She had (and will have to) work with large number of people who hold different views.  (Another article I read said that the California Department of Justice, which she ran as AG, employs about 4,800 people–that’s a lot of different views.)  If she had refused to back the Department of Corrections in their case, she would have alienated people whose cooperation she needed to be able to rely on.  (If she even had the option of not backing them and staying AG–I’m not sure how it works, exactly.)  Even people who agreed with her about the specific matter might have disapproved of her hanging her subordinates out to dry.  (Another thing our current president does constantly–notice how Harris isn’t saying that the person in her office who actually wrote these briefs is a bad guy that she barely knew.)

So here’s what actuallyhappened when Kamala Harris “fought against transwomen in prison seeking gender affirmation surgery”:

• The Department of Corrections had a policy denying gender-affirmation surgery to inmates.  
• Two inmates fought that policy in court.
• Harris defended that policy in court (or, more accurately, was the supervisor of the person who did so–but the legal documents went out under her signature, and she takes responsibility for their content).
• Harris also worked to change the policy.  

If you’ve had a job, you’ve probably been in the position of having to carry out a policy that you don’t agree with.  Your choices are to quit your job in protest or stay and argue that the policy should change.  If you pick option B, you still have to follow the policy while you’re working to change it–again, just about the only person in the world who doesn’t know this is Donald J. Trump, because he’s never had a real job where he answered to anybody.  

What this incident shows is that Kamala Harris is accustomed to working in a system where she doesn’t always get her own way, and that she knows how to lose the battle to win the war.  As VP, she’s going to need those skills–especially if the Republicans keep the Senate, but even if the Democrats sweep everything in November, we’re notoriously bad at all pulling in the same direction.  We’ve had about enough of the “I’m taking my ball and going home” style of leadership.  

This election is teaching me more about the states than school ever did

(DID Y'ALL KNOW RHODE ISLAND IS A STATE)

angelicguy:

people act like twitters worse than tumblr. i completely disagree its apples and oranges. tumblr is like a town square where you barter and sell your own goods. twitter is like a coliseum where you can watch people fight but not take part in it

twitter is the inside of a walmart bare of merchandise or shelves that instead is full of ten thousand people all screaming at the top of their lungs at each other.

[image description: twitter exchange about the cost of university in the US.

1. Tweet by Tim Gill (@timgill924): If students can pay for all that “ink” on their arms, then they can pay for textbooks too. I’m sick of hearing about this.

2. Tweet by rictus of friendship (@tancr3d2) in reply to Tim Gill: one time in college in 2005 i had to buy a $400 physics text for a single semester and could sell it for $3 after the class ended. idk re inflation but that was a lot of $ also i don’t have tattoos and at the time was living in a dining room for $150 a month

3. tweet by Don Hughes (@getfiscal) in reply to rictus of friendship: It’s funny that a book containing astonishing truths about how the universe works only cost you $300 and you’re complaining. Ah damn I learned about how matter operates, what a ripoff.

/end description]

lunarcorvid:

considering it’s black history month, UNFRIENDLY reminder that police brutality and racism aren’t magically gone just because joe biden’s the president now. keep the energy you did for george floyd, breonna taylor, sandra bland, ahmaud arbery, atatiana jefferson, and many many more these next four years. there’s still so much work that needs to be done. we CANNOT give up.

prismatic-bell:

lordnot:

Between the decision to mail people COVID testsaftermocking the idea and the decision to extend the student loan defermentaftersignaling that it would end in February, two things should now be clear to everyone:

1. Challenging the Biden Administration’s decisions, even through griping and creating negative discourse around it in social media, can be an effective agent of change.

2. Those who say that we shouldn’t speak up because it helps the Republicans are the ones doing real harm.

3. You don’t have to like him, Heaven knows I don’t, but he IS actually willing to listen, as opposed to, oh….every fucking Republican in congress. That is a very, VERY low bar to clear, but let’s be thankful at a bare minimum that we do clear it.

salt-sass-and-lyrium:

salt-sass-and-lyrium:

So I’m wasting time on Reddit, as one does and I came across this post in another subreddit

Utterly moronic, right? Like who tf is trying to teach 5 year olds about sex?

So anyway, because I’m an asshole in my 30s who no longer cares about life, I went to the original post and commented

So ~20min later I get this

Only took me 1 whole comment. Who are supposed to be the “snowflakes” again?

@willingsubsocal

Alright, I had to reblog this because the replies are too short and I wanted to break it down why this ain’t it, Fam

Tell me you didn’t read your sources w/o telling me you didn’t read your sources:

• 1st link: For starters, it’s an opinion piece. Secondly, if you read the actual material being complained about, it clearlysays kids grades k-5 would only be learning Anatomy and Physiology and Puberty and Adolescent Sexual Development. Which is already commonly taught at that age (that’s when I learned about it in school).
• 2nd link: Students (at a private school, mind you) were shown a cartoon designed for little children discussing proper names for body parts. I watched the cartoon (which was linked in the article). It’s fine. One of the kids mentions he sometimes touches his penis and his penis gets hard, and the adult character explains that there’s nothing wrong with that but that should be done in private and that private parts should always be ‘private’/covered. At no point is anyone taught how to masturbate or anything of the sort. Sex isn’t even mentioned. It’s all presented from a health standpoint.
• 3rd link: Kids K-2 would only learn personal safety and respecting others. No sex.
• 4th link: More of the same. K-2 would learn personal safety and body parts, appropriate touching, etc.

So, you’ll get that $20 when you show me an example of teachers trying to instruct 5 year olds about sex. Not about their health or development. Not about consent or appropriate touching, which all SHOULD BE TAUGHT AT THAT AGE. Show me this “promoting LGBT”, you were talking about.

Imagine being this fucking pathetic

Like seriously. Imagine it. It’s one Hell of a self esteem booster. Gotta love the dog whistle of “your kind”

“Local man disproves his own argument and thinks that’s a good look!! More at 9.”

Anyway, I’m now making my offer officially public.

Provide me with a verifiable source of children in the state of Florida are being taught about sex at 5 in school and I will Venmo you (CashApp, PayPal, Zelle, what the fuck ever) $40.

I’m being entirely serious. I’m open minded and not above admitting when I’m wrong. Buuuut thus far no one has proven me wrong on this. Wonder why?

Hint: Don’t use the same sources Fuck Face Von Magee used. I’m just gonna laugh at you.

Or you can always admit you hate gay people and keep it moving

crowglossed:

I know I don’t have many followers, but there are currently 48 people in the running for Alaskan Congress. I’d love for this to get notes just to spread the fun and hopefully let everyone know that even Santa is sick of American politics at this point.

ms-cellanies:

If you NEVER reblog a post make sure you REBLOG THIS POST.

carrbendioxide:

“From Kevin G Shinnick:

“I made a comment recently where I claimed that Republican administrations had been much more criminally corrupt over the last 50 plus years than the Democrats. I was challenged (dared actually) to prove it. So I did a bit of

research and when I say a bit I mean it didn’t take long and there is no comparison.

When comparing criminal indictments of those serving in the executive branch of presidential administrations, it’s so lopsided as to be ridiculous. Yet all I ever hear about is how supposedly “corrupt” the Democrats are. So why don’t we break it down by president and the numbers?

Obama (D) – 8 yrs in office. Zero criminal indictments, zero convictions and zero prison sentences. So the next time somebody describes the Obama administration as “scandal free” they aren’t speaking wishfully, they’re simply telling the truth.

Bush, George W. ® – 8 yrs in office. 16 criminal indictments. 16 convictions. 9 prison sentences.

Clinton (D) – 8 yrs in office. 2 criminal indictments. One conviction. One prison sentence. That’s right nearly 8 yrs of investigations. Tens of millions spent and 30 yrs of claiming them the most corrupt ever

and there was exactly one person convicted of a crime.

Bush, George H. W. ® – 4 yrs in office. One indictment. One conviction. One prison sentence.

Reagan ® – 8 yrs in office. 26 criminal indictments. 16 convictions. 8 prison sentences.

Carter (D) – 4 yrs in office. One indictment. Zero convictions and zero prison sentences.

Ford ® – 4 yrs in office. One indictment and one conviction. One prison sentence.

Nixon ® – 6 yrs in office. 76 criminal indictments. 55 convictions. 15 prison sentences.

Johnson (D) – 5 yrs in office. Zero indictments. Zero convictions. Zero prison sentences.

So, let’s see where that leaves us. In the last 53 years, Democrats have been in the Oval Office for 25 of those years, while Republicans held it for 28. In their 25 yrs in office Democrats had a total of three executive branch officials indicted with one conviction and one prison sentence. That’s one whole executive branch official convicted

of a crime in two and a half decades of Democrat leadership.

In the 28 yrs that Republicans have held office over the last 53 yrs they have had a total of (a drum roll would be more than appropriate), 120 criminal indictments of executive branch officials. 89 criminal convictions and 34 prison sentences handed down. That’s more prison sentences than years in office since 1968 for Republicans. If you want

to count articles of impeachment as indictments (they aren’t really but we can count them as an action), both sides get one more. However, Clinton wasn’t found guilty while Nixon resigned and was pardoned by

Ford (and a pardon carries with it a legal admission of guilt on the part of the pardoned). So those only serve to make Republicans look even worse.

With everything going on with Trump and his people right now, it’s a safe bet Republicans are gonna be padding their numbers a bit real soon.

So let’s just go over the numbers one more time, shall we? 120 indictments for Republicans. 89 convictions, and 34 prison sentences. Those aren’t “feelings” or “alternate facts.” Those are simply the stats by the numbers. Republicans are, and have been for my entire lifetime, the most criminally corrupt party to hold the office of the presidency.

So those are the actual numbers. Feel free to copy and paste!”

liberalsarecool:

Republican columns about to explode.

Source

Based on this why would ANYONE who is against corruption and criminal activity vote for any Republican?  And these stats are only for the executive branch.  Imagine what would be found if this included Congress.

gwydionmisha:

mini-wrants:

I personally wouldn’t mind if congress and Biden forgave student loans, but I cannot accept the argument that “student loan reprieves aren’t helping”.

I simply can’t.

I’m talking to people fresh out of college who’ve been able to save thousands more than I ever could, because they haven’t had to make a student loan payment yet.

I’m talking to 20 somethings who are able to purchase their first car, because they didn’t have to pay a student loan payment yet. They were able to take the ‘riskier’ job instead of accepting what they could find first, because they had time to breathe without those payments.

Shit, if I didn’t have to make my student loan payments for 20 months and no interest charges, that would’ve been $5000 straight in my pocket. My anxiety would’ve been down dramatically if I got a near 2-year reprieve.

Don’t act like these extensions are nothing, because for many people, they’ve been life-changing.

Some is so much better than Nothing.

tolkieniad:

Interrupting my most popular blog for one minute with something important for my fellow US peeps:

Who else in the USA would be interested in a spreadsheet organized by state & hospital that lists each hospital’s no-insurance, out-of-pocket costs for common procedures?

Becausewe could make that.We could literally crowdsource this info and put it together as a common resource.

Hospitals have tools online that list out those costs, but they are terrible. Absolutely fucking terrible and time-consuming to compare with other hospitals, which is absolutely on purpose. 

But! if people filled this out together, everybody doing a little bit (like when you yourself are looking something up), we could make a communal resource that helps people in the USA compare costs for procedures between hospitals.

Here’s an example I made comparing the same procedure at 2 different hospitals in Oregon:

in case that’s hard to see, here’s just the costs:

• that’s terrible! 
• imagine not knowing you had a choice that could save you $300!
• we can make something better for each other, because our corrupt, for-profit capitalist healthcare system ain’t gonna do it for us!
  

Anyway, here’s the spreadsheet.

republicansexscandals:

garinthalis:

I was today years old when i found out that i was allowed time off to vote. Something no boss has ever told me.

the “don’t say gay” bill passed the florida senate and is almost assuredly going to be written into law so for anyone who says it’s about not showing children age-inappropriate things just remind them of the fact that the people sponsoring the bill literally said verbatim they support it because too many kids are coming out

s-leary:

Trump

Yemen Withdraws Permission for U.S. Antiterror Ground Missions

WH official: We’ll say ‘fake news’ until media realizes attitude of attacking the President is wrong

Leaks Suggest Trump’s Own Team Is Alarmed By His Conduct He called Mike Flynn at 3a.m. to ask whether a strong dollar or a weak one is good for the economy. BUT HE’S A GREAT BUSINESSMAN.

“There are already plenty of grounds to impeach Trump. The question is when Republicans will decide that he’s more of a liability than an asset.”

Anderson Cooper Shuts Down The White House’s Terrorism List In Just 45 Seconds by showing clips of his own coverage of the “underreported” attacks. “The total number of media hits for the 78 terrorist attacks that the White House released Monday is 80,878, or about an average of slightly more than 1,000 mentions per incident.”

Trump falsely claims US murder rate is ‘highest’ in 47 years

Congress

Senate votes to silence Warren after speech against Sessions. By reading Coretta Scott King’s 1986 letter against his confirmation as a federal judge, she was insulting a fellow Senator, Mitch McConnell decided.

The Senate voted, 49 to 43, strictly on party lines, to uphold the ruling that Warren violated rules of debate. Warren is now forbidden from speaking during the remainder of the debate on the nomination of Sessions.

“I am surprised that the words of Coretta Scott King are not suitable for debate in the United States Senate,” Warren said after McConnell’s motion.

(@ChrisMurphyCT tweet)

Republican congressman says white terrorists are different

Mitch McConnell won’t spend federal money to investigate Trump’s claims of voter fraud

Congress has the power to obtain and release Trump’s tax returns

Immediately after confirming DeVos, GOP lawmaker proposes abolishing Department of Education

House moves to eliminate commission overseeing voting system security

The danger isn’t that Trump will build an autocracy. It’s that congressional Republicans will let him.

Cabinet & Federal Appointees

As expected, Mike Pence broke the tie to confirm Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education.

(@HesterBlum tweet)

(@joshgondelman tweet)

EPA employees put their jobs on the line to protest Scott Pruitt

What Steve Bannon really wants

CNN invited Kellyanne Conway back. It was a train wreck.

Protests

Army Approves Dakota Access Pipeline Route, Paving Way For The Project’s Completion “In doing so, the Army cut short its environmental impact assessment and the public comment period associated with it.”

Other Fascist Nonsense

FBI axes FOIA requests by email, so dust off your fax machine

aeliad:

biglawbear:

baasthasthezoomies:

prismatic-bell:

lindstrom2020:

Okay, USA followers, you know how we all hate bank fees? I mean, you overdraw your account by $1.23 and you get charged $25.00? That’s evil.

As of Jan 26, 2022, the Biden Administration CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) is bringing the hammer down on junk fees. This is more than just bank fees - this is going after the junk fees on things like prepaid cards, loans, bank transfers, credit card late fees, even closing costs on a mortgage.

The CFPB needs public comments, like the opinions of real people who are affected by these fees, to build a case about telling financial organizations that THEY CAN’T CHARGE THEM ANYMORE.

The CFPB says it’s particularly interested in hearing from older and lower-income consumers, students, service members and people of color.

There’s some good detail about the comments in this investopedia article. The easiest way to comment is to send an email to FederalRegisterComments@cfpb.gov. Include Docket No. CFPB-2022-0003 in the subject line of the message.

Note that these are public comments. They will be published online through the CFPB website. Don’t include account numbers, social security numbers, or full names. Tell a story - tell about the time you overdrew your account by $1.23 and the bank took $35. Tell about how you signed up for a credit card and the company charged you a bunch of fees you didn’t even know about. Tell about how you transferred money from your savings account to a checking account and the bank charged you $2.50.

These junk fees are a slap in the face of ordinary people who can’t refuse to pay, and the CFBP is taking aim at the banks that charge them. To read what CFPB director Rohit Chopra had to say about this call to action, click here.

You have until March 31, 2022 to submit comments.

YES!!!!

FUCKING YES!!!!!!

Y'all know the hole I just asked your help digging me out of like, literally last week?

THAT HOLE WOULD NOT HAVE EXISTED WITHOUT PREDATORY FEES LIKE THIS

THIS WOULD BE SO GOOD FOR SO MANY PEOPLE

DATES:Comments must be received on or before March 31, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CFPB-2022-0003, by any of the following methods:

•Electronic:http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

•Email: [email protected]. Include Docket No. CFPB-2022-0003 in the subject line of the message.

•Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Comment Intake —Fee Assessment, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20552. Please note that due to circumstances associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the CFPB discourages the submission of comments by hand delivery, mail, or courier.

Instructions: The CFPB encourages the early submission of comments. All submissions should include document title and docket number. Because paper mail in the Washington, DC area and at the CFPB is subject to delay, commenters are encouraged to submit comments electronically. In general, all comments received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov.

Hey guys. I’m a federal employee. I write regulations. I personally go through every single one of thousands of comments.

Unlike Congress, where sometimes your call or email about a policy goes into the void, every single comment about a regulation is individually read and tallied.

When a regulation is written it will say something like “The CFPB adopted X because it received 5,284 comments telling us to do that.”

Write your comments.

It can be short. It can be long. It can go into detail about your experiences or your background. It can simply be an email saying “overdraft fees suck and should be illegal.”

And it will affect policy.

Note, however, that comments are generally public record, so even though you’re encouraged to give your name, don’t give personally identifiable information.

Federal register comments are one of the least known yet most powerful ways to influence public policy.

Send in your comments!!

This is the kind of thing where participating in the process of government will cause real, concrete results. 

Unlike, say, writing a representative which feels like screaming into a void except in election years (though it’s still worth doing) this does matter. Take a few minutes and if you can write something about how this policy would help, do so. 

Personally I may write about the times I’ve had to do the math to decide whether the fees were going to be worth it or not.