U.S. Politics

[NurembergVillan]

11 minutes ago, nick76 said:

Eh? Has that been announced? Early US time so wasn’t expecting any announcement for a few hours yet if it was today.

DIdn't he say Tuesday?

[nick76]

8 minutes ago, NurembergVillan said:

DIdn't he say Tuesday?

Yeah he did but the grand jury were(are) meeting Wednesday (today) so I was surprised if something was going to happen before that and thus I was expecting later today or tomorrow.

No idea why he said Tuesday, just didn’t fit with the timeline.

Edited March 22, 2023 by nick76

[nick76]

 

[nick76]

 

[MakemineVanilla]

I think weaponising the legal system for political gain, reflects badly on the American democracy.

[nick76]

5 minutes ago, MakemineVanilla said:

I think weaponising the legal system for political gain, reflects badly on the American democracy.

Weaponising? If he broke the law he should suffer the consequences.  How many alleged crimes has he avoided prosecution over time.  The fact that he could have to pay for this one or one of the many others on the horizon makes no difference.  

Is Bragg biased against, yeah sure but if Trump is indicted then there is sufficient evidence for that.  He’s got away with so much that getting hit one time is hardly justification that this is unfair.  

Of all the issues with the legal system in the US this is way down there and in terms of democracy, of all the damage he’s done, a felony charge based on this seems very minor compared to what he could’ve been charged with (although he may yet be charged with some of them as well in other cases).

Hard to say this is really weaponising the legal system for political gain given it’s Bragg doing it not DOJ.

[bickster]

39 minutes ago, MakemineVanilla said:

I think weaponising the legal system for political gain, reflects badly on the American democracy.

Really? The US Legal system stuffed with right wing GOP appointed judges on the Supreme Court?

Should politicians be exempt from the law?

A functioning legal system is an intrinsic part of a democracy

Which idiotic YouTube channel was that thought from?

[Davkaus]

 

1 hour ago, MakemineVanilla said:

I think weaponising the legal system for political gain, reflects badly on the American democracy.

Indeed, we shouldn't play political games by...holding someone to account for inciting an insurrection. 

Edited March 22, 2023 by Davkaus

[nick76]

 

[villakram]

21 hours ago, TheAuthority said:

There isn't a magic bullet to solve homelessness, but from my experience working a little in the area there are broadly 4 types of homeless people on US streets. (Generalizations are far from ideal, but this is a sort of accepted, broad breakdown of things.)

Drug addiction and/or mental health issues - This is the hardest constituent to rehabilitate and get back to functioning member of society.

Runaways, usually from physical or sexual abuse - The group that needs the 2nd most support in order to reenter society as the abuse is usually directed at them from childhood.

Economic hardship - Made unemployed, no family to support them or savings to fall back on. However these folks can be back on their feet relatively quickly given the correct support.

Fourth group is folks who have decided that they don't want to be part of "normal" society. Living on the streets, however hard, is infinitely preferable for them as opposed to getting a job, mortgage, life insurance, yadadadadada.

Usually, "funding" from Federal sources basically means making grants available to existing organizations that are tackling the problem. The issue with this is normally under staffing, under training and ultimately one group is working completely uncoordinated fro m other groups. Essentially the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. So, for example, if you can get someone with mental health issues counseling and back on the correct medication, but there may be no resources for getting that person into a halfway house that is safe and where they can still be monitored.

There should be a national agency on homelessness IMO, but again, voters will vote for lower taxes, better roads, better schools, trans people not being allowed to go to a bathroom or not allow gay people to get married before they think about homelessness.

I really don't think another national agency would be the way to go. I shudder at the thought of an EU homelessness agency for example.

Local level works much better, so this is something the states should take on, e.g., MI/IL/OH etc could then partner for their local geographical area specific problems.

 

 

 

[villakram]

21 hours ago, TheAuthority said:

Detroit suffered hugely after the '08 crash but is actually a success story now of how a city can bounce back, so no idea what you're on about there.

Sort of... downtown has bounced back, but the fundamental population (tax base) and blight issue (you don't have to wander too far from the sports district to start seeing it either) remains (with its accompanying social problems) and there is no quick fix for any of that on the horizon. 

[villakram]

Hold tight folks, you never know!

and you lot think I don't care... a little helping hand during these tough times, stay safe!

https://www.wikihow.com/Keep-Popcorn-Fresh

"Fortunately, you can make a few little changes to end up with popcorn that stays fluffy and crisp, even days after you popped it. "

[TheAuthority]

26 minutes ago, villakram said:

I really don't think another national agency would be the way to go. I shudder at the thought of an EU homelessness agency for example.

Local level works much better, so this is something the states should take on, e.g., MI/IL/OH etc could then partner for their local geographical area specific problems.

 

 

 

Well Eu homelessness agency wouldn't be a national agency it would be international surely?

I understand what you mean about localized solutions, but 

1. The OP was talking about Federal funding.

2. As I stated, broadly speaking homeless people fall into 4 categories and that is a national trend

3. State level organization is a good idea but those buggers are even more partisan/prone to ridiculous political grand standing than anyone.

[MakemineVanilla]

24 minutes ago, villakram said:

Sort of... downtown has bounced back, but the fundamental population (tax base) and blight issue (you don't have to wander too far from the sports district to start seeing it either) remains (with its accompanying social problems) and there is no quick fix for any of that on the horizon. 

Doing a tour on Google Street View, a lot of the formerly magnificent, abandoned schools, seem to have been demolished, but there are still huge areas of abandoned and broken-down houses.

There are abandoned houses in the north of England, such as Burnley, but not on the scale of Detroit.

I think it was the abandoned stadium which hit me the hardest.

I get the impression that there is such an abundance of land, that it's cheaper to build on a fresh plot than pay for demolition.

That is why I think American capitalism is so profligate.

It is all a sad reminder of Naomi Klein's book, The Shock Doctrine.

Cross the bridge into Hamilton, Ontario and there is a total transformation.

[villakram]

6 hours ago, TheAuthority said:

Well Eu homelessness agency wouldn't be a national agency it would be international surely?

I understand what you mean about localized solutions, but 

1. The OP was talking about Federal funding.

2. As I stated, broadly speaking homeless people fall into 4 categories and that is a national trend

3. State level organization is a good idea but those buggers are even more partisan/prone to ridiculous political grand standing than anyone.

Yes, in its explicit construction. I would argue that the geographic scale makes the problems very similar. While in Europe you do have the more distinct language/culture changes that denote clearer boundaries between regions, it is nonetheless clear that the circumstances in southern Italy are far removed from the homelessness crisis in Ireland and I find it hard to see how an EU body could help. Distribute money to the states to deal with this issue, perhaps. The EU does provide a fantastic example of how central funds can be used to build infrastructure that raises the economic status of regions and that does massively help with a significant portion of the homelessness issue.. Unfortunately, that other portion is far trickier problem with no real solution as genetics and life circumstances chew us up all too readily.

[villakram]

6 hours ago, MakemineVanilla said:

Doing a tour on Google Street View, a lot of the formerly magnificent, abandoned schools, seem to have been demolished, but there are still huge areas of abandoned and broken-down houses.

There are abandoned houses in the north of England, such as Burnley, but not on the scale of Detroit.

I think it was the abandoned stadium which hit me the hardest.

I get the impression that there is such an abundance of land, that it's cheaper to build on a fresh plot than pay for demolition.

That is why I think American capitalism is so profligate.

It is all a sad reminder of Naomi Klein's book, The Shock Doctrine.

Cross the bridge into Hamilton, Ontario and there is a total transformation.

Ya, it's truly mad how big America is. The Detroit metro are is huge and the plot sizes accessible to average people is so far removed from what anyone in England/Ireland and probably most of the continent experience.

Modern development is going to lead to interesting things though as the build quality these days is so so poor. I imagine many of these properties will be in awful condition in 30-50yrs time and will make things like the rustbelt decay appear quaint.

[desensitized43]

16 hours ago, MakemineVanilla said:

I think weaponising the legal system for political gain, reflects badly on the American democracy.

I think weaponising a bunch of disaffected right wing nut jobs with guns and inciting them to overthrow the government reflects badly on American democracy.

[MakemineVanilla]

I made a general statement about American democracy and I never mentioned either party.

What I would add, is that whatever means one party uses to their advantage, will also ultimately be used by the other party.

This amounts to a race to the bottom.

 

[ml1dch]

20 minutes ago, MakemineVanilla said:

I made a general statement about American democracy and I never mentioned either party.

What I would add, is that whatever means one party uses to their advantage, will also ultimately be used by the other party.

This amounts to a race to the bottom.

I don't think that "both sides should face the same consequences if they break the law" is the unpopular opinion that you seem to believe that it might be.

[bickster]

30 minutes ago, MakemineVanilla said:

I made a general statement about American democracy and I never mentioned either party.

What I would add, is that whatever means one party uses to their advantage, will also ultimately be used by the other party.

This amounts to a race to the bottom.

A functioning independent judiciary system is one of the essential checks and balances on power in any democracy. To consider that using the judicial system against a criminal who also happens to be a politician as weaponising the judiciary is beyond stupid, in any democracy and towards any party.

Your statement sits well alongside accusing judges of being traitors and using terms like activist lawyers, just to put it in a UK context for a sec.