All Things Trump

[Tero]

Eagles were willing to stand with Trump but the event somehow turned to be about Trump. Who guessed?

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way ... from-there

[Seabass]

I find the hysteria of the U.S. (and worldwide) left utterly absurd. People actually say, with a straight face, that so many are 'suffering' under Trump. Suffering? Where? Point them out.

New Britain couple facing deportation takes sanctuary in Old Lyme church
http://www.newbritainherald.com/NBH-New ... yme-church

NEW BRITAIN - Malik Naveed Bin Rehman and Zahida Altaf, the Broad Street pizzeria owners who were to be have been deported to Pakistan Monday, have taken sanctuary in a church in Old Lyme.

Rehman and Altaf, along with their 5-year-old daughter, Roniya, had been scheduled for deportation a few weeks ago. After a storm canceled their flight, the couple had been hoping that Immigration and Customs Enforcement would grant their request for an emergency stay before their new flight date of March 19.

They were not granted the stay and went to the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme for sanctuary.

“Our goal in offering sanctuary to the family is to help slow the deportation procedure down, give the appeals process a chance to work, and provide immigration authorities with an opportunity to recognize the injustices and flaws of the law as it is being applied in this case,” a statement from the church read. “We believe that, with time and reason and compassion, the couple can receive the full, fair hearing and consideration they deserve - and that justice will prevail and they will be allowed to remain in the U.S.”

The Pakistani couple came to the United States in 2000 on visas, moved to Canada briefly, then settled in New Britain in 2005. Rehman had worked in pizza shops for many years, and in October 2017 he bought Pizza Corner.

After living in the country for more than a decade, assuming their lawyers were helping to extend their visas, they were contacted by ICE and told that there were problems with their legal status. Roniya was born in the United States and is legally a citizen, but the couple did not want to split their family by leaving her with someone in the U.S. while they were deported.

The couple say they’ve gone through several lawyers, each of whom has given them conflicting information about their legal status. Just when they thought they had everything in line, they said, another lawyer would tell them something different.

Rehman said one of their lawyers was arrested for stealing money from one of his clients and is serving time in jail for fraud.

Supporters of Rehman and Altaf held a press conference outside the Old Lyme church at 6 p.m. Thursday.

“I just want to stay,” said Malik Nayeed Bin Rehman, sniffling and fighting back tears, holding his 5-year-old daughter, Roniya.

He said his family has paid their taxes and followed the law. “We’re not doing anything wrong,” he added.

Talking about Roniya, CCSU student Roshanay Tahir, Rehman’s niece, said, “She doesn’t deserve this.” She said the little girl has been staying with her, asking where her mommy and daddy are.

“I feel guilty,” she added, about telling her they’re just having a sleepover. She said Roniya still goes to school in Wethersfield.

“They’re not doing it for themselves,” she said of the family’s efforts to keep Roniya in the country. Roniya will struggle with her asthma and not know the language if she is to go to to Pakistan with her parents, she added.

“Please, just stop tearing families apart,” she said.

“It’s very sad,” said Jason Ramos, a former CCSU student and member of the “Keep Rehatan and Altaf Home” advocacy team. Mariono Cardoso and Andrea Sanchez, also members of the CCSU student-organized group, spoke in support of the family. Tahir also in the group.

Ramos left CCSU to deal with his family’s immigration issues.

Steve Jungkeit, senior minister at the church, said the family will live in the church as the family’s attorney pursues an appeal, among other options. A team of congregation members will provide support.

“Hospitality is one of the core values that people of all faith traditions share,” Jungkeit said.

“This is the America I want to be a part of,” he added, standing with the family and everyone who spoke before attendees broke out in applause.

“The Old Testament reads, ‘We should not oppress the alien amongst us. We should treat the alien as a citizen amongst us, for you were once aliens in the land of Egypt,’ ” said the Rev. Paul Fleck of Hamden, one of the chairmen of The New Sanctuary Movement.

Supporters of Rehman and Altaf held a rally at Pizza Corner on Monday morning. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., state Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, and state Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, joined several city aldermen.

“This deportation would rip apart this family, tear apart the community, shut down a business, discharge people who have jobs now,” Blumenthal said during the rally. “It is anti-family, anti-community, anti-business, anti-jobs and anti-American.”

U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, released a statement Monday afternoon.

“Zahida and Malik are honest, hardworking, taxpaying folks who own a pizza shop around the corner from my office in New Britain. Their family does not deserve to be ripped apart by ICE,” Esty said. “We need to get back to an immigration enforcement policy that focuses on the real threats to our safety and security, not peaceful people who are raising good American citizens and creating jobs. I’m thankful to all of the local officials who have raised their voices in support of this couple.”

Last week, the Common Council and Mayor Erin Stewart sent letters to ICE officials on behalf of the family and asked for more detail about their case. The council also unanimously passed a resolution supporting the New Britain couple.

The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme has been a sanctuary for several people facing deportation, including New Britain’s Mariano Cardoso Sr. in December. Cardoso was granted a stay of deportation shortly after taking sanctuary in the church.

In a statement, the church’s Steve Junkiet, Carleen Gerber and Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager said they hope authorities will reconsider Rehman and Altaf’s case.

Staff writer Charles Paullin contributed to this story.

“In the meantime, we will be offering a safe, private apartment within our church where they can live while their legal team helps them pursue all avenues of appeal with legal and regulatory authorities. As a community of faith, we have core values that bind us together. The practice of hospitality is one such defining value. We’re proud that our community can enact its commitment in a public manner, demonstrating who and what God calls us to be in this moment,” representatives from the church said.

[rainbow]

Can Trump pardon himself:

Can Trump actually pardon himself? Experts weigh in

We asked legal scholars, former justice department officials and others whether a president may self-pardon

This lump of orange shit would do it.

He can, technically, but he can't protect himself from impeachment, so if he pardons himself, he's done.

Only in shithole countries, where some people are above the law. This does not apply to the civilised world.

[Svartalf]

you know, it's been about 40 years since the USA stopped being a truly civilized country (I'd say, since they elected reagan, more or less)

But if a prez could pardon himself when in impeachment situation, why didn't nixon and clinton the hubby do it?

[Scot Dutchy]

The US is a mess. Stop cherry picking. You dont have data so you cant compare. It is all guestimations.

Just repeating this shit over and over doesn't make it true. They have plenty of data and it's collection and collation methods are transparent. Just because you don't like the US (and everything else that isn't Dutch) doesn't mean that everything they do is fucked.

Data in the States is collected at state and county level. They are not transparent. No two states are the same. Definitions are different. They dont even know who lives there. Who is unemployed. Who does not have health care. Because of one simple fact; you have to register. If you dont you dont count. There are conditions for registering which vary from state to state even from county to county. So to compensate what do they do? Guestimate.

Data Collection

The first several decennial censuses were very basic. Census-takers only asked a handful of demographic questions, processing and tabulating questionnaires occurred at a local level, and publications were relatively limited. But as the country grew, and policy and business leaders began to recognize the value of census data, questionnaires became longer and tabulation necessarily became more involved.

As the science of statistics advanced, the Census Bureau changed and updated its methodology. The most noteworthy change occurred in 1940, when the Census Bureau introduced statistical sampling in a population census. There have, however, been other important methodological advances, especially in the fields of industrial classification and census-taking.

The 2010 census saw the most dramatic shift in the U.S. Census Bureau's data collection process in decades. The successful launch of the American Community Survey, which is administered continuously throughout the decade, meant that the long-form sample questionnaire was no longer used in the census itself.

As the United States continues to change, the Census Bureau continues to change along with it.

That is just the census. No absolute data is ever collected.

[Scot Dutchy]

Billionaire Koch brothers take on Trump over tariffs

Powerful US billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch are funding a multi-million dollar campaign against President Donald Trump's trade tariffs.

Three political groups backed by the brothers say they will use advertising, lobbying and grassroots campaigns to push the benefits of free trade.

The duo run Koch Industries, one of the world's largest privately owned firms.

The move comes just days after Mr Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from the EU, Canada and Mexico.

On Tuesday, the company was told that David Koch, 78, was stepping down because of his deteriorating health.

In a letter, Charles Koch, 82, told employees he was "deeply saddened" about his brother's departure, adding that "David has always been a fighter and is dealing with this challenge in the same way".

[laklak]

ref: the undocumented aliens taking shelter in a church.

I have a great deal of sympathy, but that certainly isn't a Trump issue. Plenty of people were deported under Obama, and under every prior President. The DREAM act was first proposed in 2001, but never passed. I truly hope they sort it out with ICE, who are not the most sympathetic bunch I've dealt with.

While I am sympathetic and wish them the best, I'm also married to a legal immigrant. It was a long, difficult process for her to legally enter the U.S., as she didn't want to get married to gain residency. In fact we didn't get married until she had her green card. We did it legally and above board, and I see no reason others should not have to do the same.

I also lived and worked overseas, in a variety of countries, for many years. In each and every case I complied fully with their immigration laws, and each and every country would certainly have deported me had I not done so. The most difficult process was getting permanent "leave to remain" status in the UK. The company I was working for had to jump through many, many hoops, and tailor the job description in such a way that there was no one, literally, in the entire UK who matched the requirements. I did once inadvertently overstay a business visa in Swaziland, and it was a real mess to sort out. Eventually they ruled in my favor and I wasn't deported, but it cost me quite a bundle in fines and lawyers because of a 3 week overstay. No excuses, I just wasn't paying attention. You pays your money and you takes your choice. If that choice is to violate clearly stated and enforced immigration laws then you've no one to blame but yourself when it goes tits up.

Whether our immigration policies are "fair" or not is a different issue. And a contentious one at that.

[Tero]

MAGA democrat
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/ ... rms-626437

[Forty Two]

Only in shithole countries, where some people are above the law. This does not apply to the civilised world.

Not sure what you're so upset about, but lots of countries afford legal protections for their government officials and leaders. For example, the UK Prime Minister and other Queen's men have "Crown Immunity," which means that criminal proceedings are generally prohibited from being brought against The Queen and Her Majesty's Government. Is that uncivilized?

[Forty Two]

ref: the undocumented aliens taking shelter in a church.

I have a great deal of sympathy, but that certainly isn't a Trump issue. Plenty of people were deported under Obama, and under every prior President. The DREAM act was first proposed in 2001, but never passed. I truly hope they sort it out with ICE, who are not the most sympathetic bunch I've dealt with.

While I am sympathetic and wish them the best, I'm also married to a legal immigrant. It was a long, difficult process for her to legally enter the U.S., as she didn't want to get married to gain residency. In fact we didn't get married until she had her green card. We did it legally and above board, and I see no reason others should not have to do the same.

I also lived and worked overseas, in a variety of countries, for many years. In each and every case I complied fully with their immigration laws, and each and every country would certainly have deported me had I not done so. The most difficult process was getting permanent "leave to remain" status in the UK. The company I was working for had to jump through many, many hoops, and tailor the job description in such a way that there was no one, literally, in the entire UK who matched the requirements. I did once inadvertently overstay a business visa in Swaziland, and it was a real mess to sort out. Eventually they ruled in my favor and I wasn't deported, but it cost me quite a bundle in fines and lawyers because of a 3 week overstay. No excuses, I just wasn't paying attention. You pays your money and you takes your choice. If that choice is to violate clearly stated and enforced immigration laws then you've no one to blame but yourself when it goes tits up.

Whether our immigration policies are "fair" or not is a different issue. And a contentious one at that.

I agree with this. So much attention and scrutiny is leveled at the US system, that folks from other countries forget that they have immigration systems too, and that they don't just let people in, and in many cases the systems are far less forgiving than the American one. The reality is, so many people are clamouring to get into our shithole, uncivilized country, that we tend to get much more attention in the world than other countries in regard to immigration. It's a wonder anyone wants to come here, though, since people die in the streets, can't get healthcare much (and when they do, it's worse than Cuba and Honduras, etc.), there is no social service help to speak of, and our capitalist system is so unforgiving that it fleeces people out of their money only to transfer to the already wealthy. You'd think, by now, the immigrants would change direction and go to the kind, civilized, unshithole-ish countries, who no doubt will let them stay with or without proper visas.

[Forty Two]

Data in the States is collected at state and county level. They are not transparent. No two states are the same. Definitions are different. They dont even know who lives there. Who is unemployed. Who does not have health care. Because of one simple fact; you have to register. If you dont you dont count. There are conditions for registering which vary from state to state even from county to county. So to compensate what do they do? Guestimate.

Some data in the US is collected at the state and county levels - that data that relates to state and county matters. However, mountains of data are collected at the federal level.

Unemployment rates nationally are not in any way determined by reference to State data or registration. You're wrong about that. The BLS gathers that information.

That is just the census. No absolute data is ever collected.

What data do they gather in the Netherlands that they don't gather in the US?

[Forty Two]

you know, it's been about 40 years since the USA stopped being a truly civilized country (I'd say, since they elected reagan, more or less)

But if a prez could pardon himself when in impeachment situation, why didn't nixon and clinton the hubby do it?

They can't pardon themselves from impeachment. Article Two, Section 2: "...and he [the President] shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment." He can't pardon people for state crimes, and he can't pardon anyone, including himself, from impeachment.

[Svartalf]

duly noted... so as usual, the orange duck is talking pure cow patties, I should be used to it, but somehow, I can't, which is why macron makes my hackles rise as soon as he opens his pie hole.

[Forty Two]

No, you're missing it. He can pardon himself from criminal prosecution, but he can't pardon himself from impeachment. Impeachment is political.

[Svartalf]

mmmmh, would his crimes be federal by nature or 50 sets of state crimes?