Bear Pit: now the sole domicile of politics at LuLa

[Alan Klein]

Trump's Dream Wall


Berlin Wall death strip, 1977
GeorgeLouis at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The fact is, more people have died in a single Biden year, 2021, than ever before. That was the first year of his presidency.  We're not done with his second year.  Biden is just getting started.

At least 650 migrants died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in 2021, more than in any other year since the International Organization for Migration, a part of the United Nations, began tracking the data in 2014.
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/28/texas-migrant-deaths-smuggling/

Here's another one of Biden's successes at the border.

MIGRANT TRAGEDY IN SAN ANTONIO
At least 50 people found dead in abandoned 18-wheeler in San Antonio
The authorities said the tragedy appeared to be the deadliest migrant-smuggling operation in memory.
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/27/bodies-18-wheeler-san-antonio-lackland/

[TechTalk]

...began tracking the data in 2014...

[Alan Klein]

Do you think I meant 459 BCE? Of course it;s fro when statistics were started to bbe collected.  WE can;lt know what the figures were before.  The point is that  from2014 covered Trump's four years and even included a couple of years of Obama's.  Biden's beaten both of them in his first year with migrant deaths.

Just for your information regarding your Berlin Wall picture,  migrant deaths during Biden;s first year exceeded the number of East German deaths of people trying to escape.  600 Germans fleeing into West Berlin were shot and killed between 1961 and 1988.  So Biden beat the GDR police in deaths without firing a shot. All in one year.

[TechTalk]

People will risk everything, including their lives, to escape intolerable conditions and improve the lives of their families. Like previous generations of our family members did.

[Alan Klein]

People will risk everything, including their lives, to escape intolerable conditions and improve the lives of their families. Like previous generations of our family members did.

I'm all for immigration, just make it legal.  We take in one million legal immigrants every year.  We can't absorb every poor person in the world.  There are billions of them.  Also, the crisis is allowing Fentanyl and other drugs to enter to easily kill many Americans.  Drug cartel pushers are entering as well and staying adding to crime.  100,000 died last year of opioid overdoses.  The burden to support these immigrants in many small US communities around the country o pay for food, shelter, medical, and schooling, is a huge burden hurting other poor American citizens.  We can act compassionately without acting foolishly.

This is all a political game.  Bidens figured that these millions will eventually be voted by Democrats in congress to be allowed to vote even though they were not citizens or voted to make them citizens.  And vote Democratically to insure the Democrats unilateral power for decades ahead.  It's pure politics and that's hurting America. 

[TechTalk]

Prejudice is the right word. If you can't see the distinction between a President encouraging a mob to overthrow the democratic system and rioters running amok after police shootings, you have a cognitive problem. They are NOT equivalent just because you choose to simple-mindedly attempt to place them on opposite "sides" of some arbitrary and largely meaningless political divide.

In today's hearing, Alexander Hamilton, writing in Federalist #1, was quoted. I've previously posted the same quote here. Here's a slightly longer version of it than was quoted today...

...it will be equally forgotten that the vigor of government is essential to the security of liberty; that, in the contemplation of a sound and well-informed judgment, their interest can never be separated; and that a dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the forbidden appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of government. History will teach us that the former has been found a much more certain road to the introduction of despotism than the latter, and that of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants.

[TechTalk]

At least 650 migrants died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in 2021, more than in any other year since the International Organization for Migration, a part of the United Nations, began tracking the data in 2014.
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/28/texas-migrant-deaths-smuggling/

I've underlined the parts which Alan censored from his quote...

As the prospect of being able to stay in the U.S. and seek that protection has become more difficult, deaths have risen. At least 650 migrants died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in 2021, more than in any other year since the International Organization for Migration, a part of the United Nations, began tracking the data in 2014.

“The border is more closed down now than almost any time in history,” said Allison Norris, a supervising attorney for immigration legal services for the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington. “This has led folks to increasingly seek out smugglers and engage in more dangerous ways of getting across the border.”

[Alan Klein]

In today's hearing, Alexander Hamilton, writing in Federalist #1, was quoted. I've previously posted the same quote here. Here's a slightly longer version of it than was quoted today...

...it will be equally forgotten that the vigor of government is essential to the security of liberty; that, in the contemplation of a sound and well-informed judgment, their interest can never be separated; and that a dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the forbidden appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of government. History will teach us that the former has been found a much more certain road to the introduction of despotism than the latter, and that of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants.

Many founders and states, even though they feared too much central power, were more terrified by the democracy of mob rule at the bottom.  They tried to set up a system that would give democracy but protect the liberties of minority groups especially those already in power and wealth like themselves.  Otherwise the poor could vote to take away their wealth and privilege.

So they gave the democratic vote only for representative.  Senators, until amended in the twentieth century,  were voted by state legislatures and the president by electors.   The Federal government had checks and balances and the states were left with much of the power that was not given to the central government.  While the central government has grabbed more power than I believe the founders intended, the Republic still is working after 200+ years.  Not bad.

[PeterAit]

We need that wall at the southern border.

Well, here's how Trump's wall, even though partial, is faring. With some effort, people can climb over it. And sometimes they fall from the wall and land on the US side. There are over 200 cases of serious injuries including broken backs from these falls, and the border patrol has to pick them up and take them for medical care. So thanks to Trump we have many poor and desperate migrants with serious and sometimes permanent injuries who are getting medical care on the taxpayers' dime, and the patrol officers are taken away from catching drug traffickers and the like. Otherwise these people would be washing your dishes and mowing your lawn and fixing your roof and picking your vegetables and other jobs that anglo-Americans won't take, contributing to the economy and making a life for themselves.

[Alan Klein]

I've underlined the parts which Alan censored from his quote...

As the prospect of being able to stay in the U.S. and seek that protection has become more difficult, deaths have risen. At least 650 migrants died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in 2021, more than in any other year since the International Organization for Migration, a part of the United Nations, began tracking the data in 2014.

“The border is more closed down now than almost any time in history,” said Allison Norris, a supervising attorney for immigration legal services for the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington. “This has led folks to increasingly seek out smugglers and engage in more dangerous ways of getting across the border.”

Biden as president controls the border.  He's the Chief Executive of the US government. The Border Police, DEA, FBI, military, etc all work for him.  He opened the borders, invited these people to come on up, shut down the wall, and broke the deal with the Mexican government which would have held many of these people from crossing and thusly saving their lives.  These extra deaths occurred on his watch. not Trump's or Obama's.  He's responsible. 

If the border is more closed down as Mr. Norris says, why are more people crossing it than ever before?  All these people came through immediately after Biden became president in his first year. 

[Robert Roaldi]

Just to change the topic a little.  I see in Great Britain that they're working on selecting the next Prime Minister to replace Boris Johnson who's being fired for refusing to comb his hair and other immoral acts.  In thinking about how many feel the American electoral system does not democratically select the president (it isn't democratic), I don't see how the GB selection process is more democratic in a parliamentary system. 

From what I hear, there are 8 potential nominees.  Who selected them?  Also, the people don't vote for any of these, I don't believe.  One of them will be selected to be PM by an undemocratic process in a smoke filled room, behind closed doors, by a bunch of political hacks.  When selected, does the government send up some smoke like the Vatican?

In the UK parliamentary system (similar to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc.) voters DO NOT vote for the PM. Your comments indicate that you don't know how those systems work. You vote for your member of parliament, and the leader of the party is just another member of parliament. Members of cabinet are similarly just members of parliament. There's nothing special about these guys, they're just in different jobs than back benchers from which they can be fired by their party and replaced by others.

The leader of the party is selected by intra-party elections that are quite open for all to watch.

There has been an unfortunate trend to yield more power to the administrative PMO (Prime Ministers Office).

We also have many parties, which makes total sense. What makes NO sense is to have only two parties, which sounds like a cartel to me. When a party does not achieve majority in parliament they have to seek working arrangements with other parties, which makes complete sense, since the voters chose to NOT give any one party a majority. Thus the leading party cannot do what they want, which was the voters' intent.

Many people I know maintain that the fact that the US is arbitrarily run by two parties that are not that different from one another, despite claims to the contrary, is an indication that the US is not much of a democracy. But if you're happy being governed by monied interests, that's your business.

One major advantage of the Canadian system is that elections only last a month or two. How you guys can stand permanent election status is beyond me. One election isn't over when you're already discussing the next one. Must be a lot of jobs and money at stake to keep that machinery running like that. How in the hell do you ever get anything done if you're electioneering all the time?

[Robert Roaldi]

Biden as president controls the border.  He's the Chief Executive of the US government. The Border Police, DEA, FBI, military, etc all work for him.  He opened the borders, invited these people to come on up, shut down the wall, and broke the deal with the Mexican government which would have held many of these people from crossing and thusly saving their lives.  These extra deaths occurred on his watch. not Trump's or Obama's.  He's responsible. 

If the border is more closed down as Mr. Norris says, why are more people crossing it than ever before?  All these people came through immediately after Biden became president in his first year.

That sounds like Tucker hyperbole, so it's almost certain to be wrong. Is there is a site when you get these "messages"?

[Alan Klein]

Well, here's how Trump's wall, even though partial, is faring. With some effort, people can climb over it. And sometimes they fall from the wall and land on the US side. There are over 200 cases of serious injuries including broken backs from these falls, and the border patrol has to pick them up and take them for medical care. So thanks to Trump we have many poor and desperate migrants with serious and sometimes permanent injuries who are getting medical care on the taxpayers' dime, and the patrol officers are taken away from catching drug traffickers and the like. Otherwise these people would be washing your dishes and mowing your lawn and fixing your roof and picking your vegetables and other jobs that anglo-Americans won't take, contributing to the economy and making a life for themselves.

Peter, more people are dying now under Biden than under Trump, with his wall. So the statistics don't back you up.

I do agree that American businesses and the government are looking away from the hiring of illegals.  Illegals work for less. If the government would arrest a few employers for illegally hiring these people, and put them in jail for it, illegal immigration would dry up in an instant.  If fearful employers stop hiring, then illegals won't come up here. There will be no jobs for them, and existing illegals would go home to their original countries in droves.  Employers would have to raise salaries. Poor American citizens will be able to get jobs that have gone to illegals who work for less money.  American communities will have more money to support American homeless and poor.  What's wrong with that?

[Alan Klein]

In the UK parliamentary system (similar to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc.) voters DO NOT vote for the PM. Your comments indicate that you don't know how those systems work. You vote for your member of parliament, and the leader of the party is just another member of parliament. Members of cabinet are similarly just members of parliament. There's nothing special about these guys, they're just in different jobs than back benchers from which they can be fired by their party and replaced by others.

The leader of the party is selected by intra-party elections that are quite open for all to watch.

There has been an unfortunate trend to yield more power to the administrative PMO (Prime Ministers Office).

We also have many parties, which makes total sense. What makes NO sense is to have only two parties, which sounds like a cartel to me. When a party does not achieve majority in parliament they have to seek working arrangements with other parties, which makes complete sense, since the voters chose to NOT give any one party a majority. Thus the leading party cannot do what they want, which was the voters' intent.

Many people I know maintain that the fact that the US is arbitrarily run by two parties that are not that different from one another, despite claims to the contrary, is an indication that the US is not much of a democracy. But if you're happy being governed by monied interests, that's your business.

One major advantage of the Canadian system is that elections only last a month or two. How you guys can stand permanent election status is beyond me. One election isn't over when you're already discussing the next one. Must be a lot of jobs and money at stake to keep that machinery running like that. How in the hell do you ever get anything done if you're electioneering all the time?

I said that voters don't vote when I said they are selected by inside political hacks.  So there no democracy in the selection.  Will any voters vote for one of the eight?  If not, how is that more democratic than the American electoral system?

America has a two-party system because the founders unwittingly created it when the constitution, they wrote required 50% of the electoral vote for a president to win.  That forced a two-party system because of the need to get a majority vote.  Creating other parties as sometimes has happened in American politics causes votes to go under 50%.  So, it pays to stick together.

That's why each party attracts so many weirdos from the right and the left.  In a parliamentary system, these people form their own little party and maybe get a few seats in Parliament.  In America, because of the 50% requirement, the votes for these minority candidates are lost because they only get a small percentage of the vote.   So they join the major parties which have to keep making excuses why these weirdos are in their party.  Of course, as you see, sometimes the minority views become the majority party view.  The woke left seems to run the Democrats.  The Trump right has great influence on the Republican party.   Third-party candidates don’t pick the president and they don’t get into congress as congressmen are voted for separately.  Additionally, Congressmen and senators also require majority votes in their states increasing the need for two parties.  States follow suit requiring 50% which cements the need for two parties. 

We’d have to change to a parliamentary system to get more parties that matter.  That’s something requiring a total revamping of our constitution which isn’t going to happen too soon. 

[Alan Klein]

That sounds like Tucker hyperbole, so it's almost certain to be wrong. Is there is a site when you get these "messages"?

I don't watch Tucker much anymore.  Is he still stealing my ideas?

[TechTalk]

If only life was as simple and certain as the heavily censored tunnel vision of rigid ideology makes it appear. But of course, real life is complicated.

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/rising_border_encounters_in_2021.pdf

Rising Border Encounters in 2021: An Overview and Analysis

American Immigration Council - March 4, 2022 - Excerpt

...Almost immediately after lockdowns lifted across Mexico and Central America, the number of single adults coming to the border seeking to enter the United States began rising rapidly, from a low of 14,754 in April 2020 to 62,041 in December 2020. This was the highest number of apprehensions for a December in 15 years.

After President Biden took office, the number of asylum seekers and migrants apprehended after crossing the border between ports of entry began rising rapidly, increasing from 75,316 in January 2021 to a high of 200,658 in July 2021. Although the large majority of migrants arriving at the border in the first half of the year were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, by the end of the year an increasingly large portion came from other countries in the Western Hemisphere, such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti, and Colombia.

The reasons that migrants chose to come to the border in 2021 are as varied at the people themselves. Many individuals from Guatemala and Honduras left because of growing food instability following years of drought and two major hurricanes which hit the countries in 2020 and devastated cropland. In March 2021, the World Food Program declared that millions of Hondurans and Guatemalans were in a nationwide “Crisis level” for food insecurity, with nearly one million people nearing the level of a famine.  Violence and impunity also continued to be an issue throughout the region, causing many to leave.

The continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have also fueled migration across the hemisphere, especially among refugees who had previously been waiting in other countries. Due to rising anti-immigrant sentiment and economic insecurity resulting from the pandemic, tens of thousands of Venezuelan and Haitian refugees living in South America became displaced from countries in which they had already sought refuge. Many saw the United States as their best chance to find any kind of permanent security.

Still others left due to escalating political instability and persecution in their home countries. For example, arrivals of Nicaraguans rose dramatically throughout the year as the government of Daniel Ortega cracked down politically and jailed opponents. Asylum seekers from Cuba also increased significantly through 2021, following mass political protests throughout the country and a corresponding crackdown.

But not all those who became displaced in 2020 and 2021 made their way to the United States. The entire region saw rising numbers of refugees. In Costa Rica, a record 53,000 Nicaraguans sought asylum in 2021, compared to 87,000 who sought asylum in the United States. In Mexico, a record 131, 448 people applied for asylum.

Thus, despite the focus on the United States and on the actions of President Biden, migration increased across the entire hemisphere in 2021...

[Alan Klein]

If only life was as simple and certain as the heavily censored tunnel vision of rigid ideology makes it appear. But of course, real life is complicated.

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/rising_border_encounters_in_2021.pdf

Rising Border Encounters in 2021: An Overview and Analysis

American Immigration Council - March 4, 2022 - Excerpt

...Almost immediately after lockdowns lifted across Mexico and Central America, the number of single adults coming to the border seeking to enter the United States began rising rapidly, from a low of 14,754 in April 2020 to 62,041 in December 2020. This was the highest number of apprehensions for a December in 15 years.

After President Biden took office, the number of asylum seekers and migrants apprehended after crossing the border between ports of entry began rising rapidly, increasing from 75,316 in January 2021 to a high of 200,658 in July 2021. Although the large majority of migrants arriving at the border in the first half of the year were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, by the end of the year an increasingly large portion came from other countries in the Western Hemisphere, such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti, and Colombia.

The reasons that migrants chose to come to the border in 2021 are as varied at the people themselves. Many individuals from Guatemala and Honduras left because of growing food instability following years of drought and two major hurricanes which hit the countries in 2020 and devastated cropland. In March 2021, the World Food Program declared that millions of Hondurans and Guatemalans were in a nationwide “Crisis level” for food insecurity, with nearly one million people nearing the level of a famine.  Violence and impunity also continued to be an issue throughout the region, causing many to leave.

The continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have also fueled migration across the hemisphere, especially among refugees who had previously been waiting in other countries. Due to rising anti-immigrant sentiment and economic insecurity resulting from the pandemic, tens of thousands of Venezuelan and Haitian refugees living in South America became displaced from countries in which they had already sought refuge. Many saw the United States as their best chance to find any kind of permanent security.

Still others left due to escalating political instability and persecution in their home countries. For example, arrivals of Nicaraguans rose dramatically throughout the year as the government of Daniel Ortega cracked down politically and jailed opponents. Asylum seekers from Cuba also increased significantly through 2021, following mass political protests throughout the country and a corresponding crackdown.

But not all those who became displaced in 2020 and 2021 made their way to the United States. The entire region saw rising numbers of refugees. In Costa Rica, a record 53,000 Nicaraguans sought asylum in 2021, compared to 87,000 who sought asylum in the United States. In Mexico, a record 131, 448 people applied for asylum.

Thus, despite the focus on the United States and on the actions of President Biden, migration increased across the entire hemisphere in 2021...

The fact is that ilegal immigration jumped by a wide margin when Biden took over as president.  His shutting down the wall, winking at immigrants who noticed he wasn't serious about stopping them, ignoring Mexican help in stopping them at the border, and other changes all increase the influx of illegals.

The American Immigration Council who wrote the article supports illegal immigration.  Naturally, they would come up with excuses for Biden.   

One example.  They claimed that Biden made many more arrests at the border than before.  Well, that's true.  That's because there were so many more illegals crossing the border under Biden. So, naturally, there has to be more arrests.  In any case, so many of those "arrested" were given a court appearance ticket and let go to disappear in America never to be heard from again.  They threw the court appearance tickets in the trash can.

[TechTalk]

As an addition to today's committee hearing, which focused on extremists operating inside and outside of the White House leading up to the insurrection on January 6th, Mehdi Hasan did a segment last week on Republican Extremism and the need to confront it.

https://www.youtube.com/GOP Extremism Can't Go Unanswered Anymore | The Mehdi Hasan Show

GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene went viral after suggesting that the July 4 Philadelphia and Highland Park shootings were false flags meant to push Republicans to back gun control measures. It’s bad enough that this lunacy is coming from a sitting member of Congress — but what’s worse, Mehdi says, is that the party is letting this nonsense flow freely to its base as it goes unanswered.

[TechTalk]

...The American Immigration Council who wrote the article supports illegal immigration...

That statement is as blindly idiotic as it would be for some jackass to say: the Republican Party supports random shooting of migrants seeking asylum. Then again, all jackasses sound alike to me.

[Alan Klein]

That statement is as blindly idiotic as it would be for some jackass to say: the Republican Party supports random shooting of migrants seeking asylum. Then again, all jackasses sound alike to me.

Leaving aside your insult, the facts are the Republican Party does not support random shootings but the AIC supports illegal immigrants.  What they do might not be illegal.  But it serves them to support Biden and his policies to let in illegals.  So their article is just whitewashing Biden's immigration policy.