So, two questions fot Tuesday:
1) The Texas governor signed into law making “illegal” entry into Texas a state crime.
– So what does he expect his sheriffs to do? Take suspected violators into custody or issue a citation?
2) The media keeps referring to the “border crisis”. Exactly what is the crisis ? Was it a crisis when 10,000 persons a week entered the US through Ellis Island?
Kevin DePaolo was hiking with a friend in the Inyo mountains earlier this month when the rock unexpectedly dislodged, he told the New York Times in one of his first interviews since the accident on 5 December.
It crushed his legs and came to a stop on his right leg. The mishap left DePaolo stuck with serious injuries and intense pain for 10 hours, and required a huge effort by rescuers to free him.
DePaolo, an experienced hiker, said he was digging in the sand on a hillside near Santa Rita Flat looking for rocks when the boulder came loose and landed on him, which he said felt like “getting hit by a fridge”. His friend, Joshua Nelson rushed to DePaolo’s aid, using a pickaxe to try to prevent the boulder from further crushing him. Nelson was able to free DePaolo’s badly injured left leg, which had been torn open, exposing muscles and bone.
………………………..
DePaolo’s pelvis was cracked in two places and the femoral artery in his left leg was severed. He may have nerve damage, but he did not break any bones in his legs and doctors were able to save his leg. In a few months, he will be able to walk again, he told the San Francisco Chronicle.
“I’m just extremely grateful to be alive,” he told the Times.
And damned lucky too. His friend Nelson did one hell of a job keeping him alive.
This actually surprised me. I must admit that even though I know there was racism in the military having seen and heard it first hand, I also thought that the military had in general done a much better job of addressing issues that most others.
“While many banks also approved White applicants at higher rates than Black borrowers, the nearly 29-percentage-point gap in Navy Federal’s approval rates was the widest of any of the 50 lenders that originated the most mortgage loans last year.
The disparity remains even among White and Black applicants who had similar incomes and debt-to-income ratios. Notably, Navy Federal approved a slightly higher percentage of applications from White borrowers making less than $62,000 a year than it did of Black borrowers making $140,000 or more.
A deeper statistical analysis performed by CNN found that Black applicants to Navy Federal were more than twice as likely to be denied as White applicants even when more than a dozen different variables – including income, debt-to-income ratio, property value, downpayment percentage, and neighborhood characteristics – were the same.
The Virginia-based Navy Federal, which was originally founded in 1933 to serve Navy employees, is now open to all members of the armed forces, Department of Defense personnel, veterans, and their relatives. It has about 13 million members and more than $165 billion in assets.”
Working in real estate I am not surprised in the least. I have few Black clients, but with every Black client I have I go out of my way to ask them about their experience with their lender. Did anything feel off? Were they pressured at all to go with a particular product? I ask them if they would like me to go over lending discrimination issues (especially if they have Wells Fargo and now Navy Federal loans). Anything I can do to help I do. Even then I’m still concerned I haven’t done enough.
Whether you believe that the U.S. should provide reparations for slavery or not, it ABSOLUTELY should for the last 70 odd years of housing discrimination. It has been a staggering wealth transfer from Black People to White people that has massively damaged cities and rural areas.
Why is the US far right finding its savior in Spanish dictator Francisco Franco?*
Some US far-right figures have made renewed attempts to rehabilitate the 20th century Spanish dictator Gen Francisco Franco in recent months, praising him as an avatar of religious authoritarianism, and praising his actions during and after the Spanish civil war as a model for confronting the left in the US.
@Mister Bluster:
Franco?
What a bunch of pathetic loons.
Why are they so eager to celebrate someone whose entire life’s work ended in failure?
As there is currently a socialist government in Spain, perhaps old Francisco might have done better to avoid getting about half a million people killed for no good reason.
But his hand-picked successor dismantled the dictatorship and led to today’s democratic Spain. That’s an achievement to emulate, no?
Granted, that’s the only good thing about Franco, whom, I’m told, had a white butt that turned gray.
Trivia: Spain’s national anthem has no lyrics.
On other things, Week 4 of Hell Week was supposed to be more relaxed, but it’s not. Long story omitted, we spent three days paying the admission fee for submitting a proposal to Mexico City’s government. They should imitate the Federal government, and a growing number of state ones, and do away with these payments.
@Mister Bluster: I suspect this is part of a new thing on the right, “public good constitutionalism”. It masquerades as a sort of utilitarianism, but the point is order and morality are good for people so the government, including the courts, should impose both. Dominionism with a utilitarian mask. Franco, a devout religious dictator is exactly what they want. But never quite saying so.
Whether you believe that the U.S. should provide reparations for slavery or not, it ABSOLUTELY should for the last 70 odd years of housing discrimination. It has been a staggering wealth transfer from Black People to White people that has massively damaged cities and rural areas.
[In reference to my comment to you in the Biden post today:] See? I knew you were a bougie prog bobo leftie. [High Five emoji!] And to echo DK above, keep on keeping on. You have something tangible that you can do that will change conditions for someone. Sadly, and a lot of the time, that’s as much progress as is available.
Speaking of uncle Thomas, a web search says the salary of an associate SCOTUS justice is around $250,000 per year, not including benefits. That’s a job for life that pays a quarter of a million dollars, before taxes, every year for decades.
That’s the kind of salary that not only allows for a good quality of life for one’s family, but leaves enough besides for serious savings and investment. That is, investments that will result in substantial gains over time.
And he pleads poverty for taking bribes? Thank Juno Moneta the supremes are not involved in acquisitions or public works. he’d have amassed billions in kickbacks by now.
@Kathy: Maybe somebody can explain to me the difference between, “I’ll vote your way if you give me money.” and’ “I vote your way, but I’ll have to quit the Court if you don’t give me money.”
Enjoy it while it lasts. The Supremes will no doubt reverse it hard.
Although this would be Roberts’ chance to make history, A ruling saying Adolph cannot be in any state ballot, would be literally historic. I don’t think he has the spine to do it, though.
The Irish and Italians, among others, weren’t always welcomed with open arms, I think
My father immigrated from Ireland in 1950 as an adult, to the Midwest. He was told right away never to venture into southern Illinois, much less farther south, with his accent. My mother also emigrated from Ireland in 1950, so also had the brogue. When they drove to Colorado for their honeymoon in 1955 they had a listing of safe places to stay that had Irish connections. Sort of a cut rate version of the Green Book.
In a bombshell decision, Colorado’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that former President Donald Trump’s candidacy in the state is prohibited on constitutional grounds.
“A majority of the court holds that President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” the ruling said. “Because he is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code for the Colorado Secretary of State to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot.”
The first-of-its kind ruling stems from a lawsuit that focused a little-known provision in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Similar challenges in other states have proven unsuccessful.
Paging The Supremes, Paging The Supremes. It’s showtime!
ETA: My snip is too short:
The decision from Colorado’s high court reverses a lower court’s ruling that said Trump had engaged in insurrection by inciting a riot on Jan. 6, 2021, but that presidents are not subject to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment because they are not an “officer of the United States.”
I suppose a lot of people thought the scene in Blazing Saddles where the Mayor says they’ll accept the Ni-clangs and the Ch***s, but no Irish is funny because it seemed absurd. It’s funnier when you know it’s true.
Fair enough. I read a piece long ago, to the effect that dog domestication caused humans to develop a light sclera. It made it easier for dogs to follow our gaze during hunting. FWIW, I did test my dog, Emm, for that. She would follow my gaze if she could see my eyes*.
On the other hand, other animals have light sclera. And its color is not a thing that’s found on fossils. So, who knows.
I held a chew toy, which she fixated on, then I glanced down, and Emmie looked down to see what I’d found. I phrase it like this, as she returned her attention to the toy when nothing turned up on the floor.
@gVOR10: When I was in college around 1980, a student I knew spent the summer hiking as much of the AT as she could. She had a photo of a sign from a town near the trail, somewhere in the South, that literally said “No N*, Chinese or Irish After Dark”.
@Kathy: I’m hoping some constitutional lawyers chime in, because I don’t think this would be a straightforward case for the Supreme Court. The constitution is clear that states govern the “time, places, and manner” of their elections. Congress can “make or alter” regulations, but that isn’t going to happen quickly (if at all).
I’m not sure this is that big of a “bombshell” decision. So far, this bars Trump from the primary ballot, but that’s kind of a “so what” when one looks at how Republicans select candidates. Even barring him from the general election ballot wouldn’t ultimately matter that much–he wasn’t going to win Colorado anyway.
@Brian Andersson: When Ellis Island was opened in 1892, it wasn’t complicated to enter legally. It is now–in fact, the only part of the US code that is more complex than immigration is the US tax code.
The more difficult and complicated we make it to work here, the worse our immigration problems become. The smartest solution would be a guest worker program that allows people to work here LEGALLY without becoming full citizens. How conservatives don’t understand this is beyond me.
So, two questions fot Tuesday:
1) The Texas governor signed into law making “illegal” entry into Texas a state crime.
– So what does he expect his sheriffs to do? Take suspected violators into custody or issue a citation?
2) The media keeps referring to the “border crisis”. Exactly what is the crisis ? Was it a crisis when 10,000 persons a week entered the US through Ellis Island?
And damned lucky too. His friend Nelson did one hell of a job keeping him alive.
This actually surprised me. I must admit that even though I know there was racism in the military having seen and heard it first hand, I also thought that the military had in general done a much better job of addressing issues that most others.
“While many banks also approved White applicants at higher rates than Black borrowers, the nearly 29-percentage-point gap in Navy Federal’s approval rates was the widest of any of the 50 lenders that originated the most mortgage loans last year.
The disparity remains even among White and Black applicants who had similar incomes and debt-to-income ratios. Notably, Navy Federal approved a slightly higher percentage of applications from White borrowers making less than $62,000 a year than it did of Black borrowers making $140,000 or more.
A deeper statistical analysis performed by CNN found that Black applicants to Navy Federal were more than twice as likely to be denied as White applicants even when more than a dozen different variables – including income, debt-to-income ratio, property value, downpayment percentage, and neighborhood characteristics – were the same.
The Virginia-based Navy Federal, which was originally founded in 1933 to serve Navy employees, is now open to all members of the armed forces, Department of Defense personnel, veterans, and their relatives. It has about 13 million members and more than $165 billion in assets.”
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/14/business/navy-federal-credit-union-black-applicants-invs/index.html
Steve
@OzarkHillbilly:
No spit.
@steve: More fake news from the CRT people to male whites feel guilty. Don’t fall for it. CNN must of left something out.
@steve: That is surprising.
@steve: Is Navy Federal in fact run by the Navy? I am guessing no.
I too, think the military is doing better than the US in general. And they maybe still have problems. Both of these things could be true.
@OzarkHillbilly:
@steve:
Working in real estate I am not surprised in the least. I have few Black clients, but with every Black client I have I go out of my way to ask them about their experience with their lender. Did anything feel off? Were they pressured at all to go with a particular product? I ask them if they would like me to go over lending discrimination issues (especially if they have Wells Fargo and now Navy Federal loans). Anything I can do to help I do. Even then I’m still concerned I haven’t done enough.
Whether you believe that the U.S. should provide reparations for slavery or not, it ABSOLUTELY should for the last 70 odd years of housing discrimination. It has been a staggering wealth transfer from Black People to White people that has massively damaged cities and rural areas.
El Generalisimo Francisco Franco Still Dead???
*Because one Fascist Idol is not enough?
@Mister Bluster:
Franco?
What a bunch of pathetic loons.
Why are they so eager to celebrate someone whose entire life’s work ended in failure?
As there is currently a socialist government in Spain, perhaps old Francisco might have done better to avoid getting about half a million people killed for no good reason.
@JohnSF:
But his hand-picked successor dismantled the dictatorship and led to today’s democratic Spain. That’s an achievement to emulate, no?
Granted, that’s the only good thing about Franco, whom, I’m told, had a white butt that turned gray.
Trivia: Spain’s national anthem has no lyrics.
On other things, Week 4 of Hell Week was supposed to be more relaxed, but it’s not. Long story omitted, we spent three days paying the admission fee for submitting a proposal to Mexico City’s government. They should imitate the Federal government, and a growing number of state ones, and do away with these payments.
@Beth:
Thank you thank you thank you.
@Mister Bluster: I suspect this is part of a new thing on the right, “public good constitutionalism”. It masquerades as a sort of utilitarianism, but the point is order and morality are good for people so the government, including the courts, should impose both. Dominionism with a utilitarian mask. Franco, a devout religious dictator is exactly what they want. But never quite saying so.
@Bobinyoungstown:
According to nativists back then, I think so yes. The Irish and Italians, among others, weren’t always welcomed with open arms, I think.
History rhymes.
Satire getting too close for comfort (gift link):
Thanks for being a Supreme Court Patreon! Don’t forget to claim your perks.
@Beth:
[In reference to my comment to you in the Biden post today:] See? I knew you were a bougie prog bobo leftie. [High Five emoji!] And to echo DK above, keep on keeping on. You have something tangible that you can do that will change conditions for someone. Sadly, and a lot of the time, that’s as much progress as is available.
@Jen:
Speaking of uncle Thomas, a web search says the salary of an associate SCOTUS justice is around $250,000 per year, not including benefits. That’s a job for life that pays a quarter of a million dollars, before taxes, every year for decades.
That’s the kind of salary that not only allows for a good quality of life for one’s family, but leaves enough besides for serious savings and investment. That is, investments that will result in substantial gains over time.
And he pleads poverty for taking bribes? Thank Juno Moneta the supremes are not involved in acquisitions or public works. he’d have amassed billions in kickbacks by now.
@Beth: I bow down to your superior knowledge.
@Mister Bluster: I saw that. My wife grew up in Franco’s Spain. Safe to say she disagrees.
Holy spit. The CO Supreme Court has ruled Trump must be removed from the CO primary ballot. Presumably next stop SCOTUS.
@Kathy: Maybe somebody can explain to me the difference between, “I’ll vote your way if you give me money.” and’ “I vote your way, but I’ll have to quit the Court if you don’t give me money.”
@gVOR10:
Good news are best served unexpected. A nice surprise to break up a dreary day.
@gVOR10: Just saw that. Wondering how much the Supremes can intervene seeing as states control their elections.
@OzarkHillbilly:
@Kathy:
Oh, this is DELIGHTFUL.
@OzarkHillbilly:…Franco’s Spain…
I am glad she survived.
@Jen:
Enjoy it while it lasts. The Supremes will no doubt reverse it hard.
Although this would be Roberts’ chance to make history, A ruling saying Adolph cannot be in any state ballot, would be literally historic. I don’t think he has the spine to do it, though.
@DK:
My father immigrated from Ireland in 1950 as an adult, to the Midwest. He was told right away never to venture into southern Illinois, much less farther south, with his accent. My mother also emigrated from Ireland in 1950, so also had the brogue. When they drove to Colorado for their honeymoon in 1955 they had a listing of safe places to stay that had Irish connections. Sort of a cut rate version of the Green Book.
@gVOR10: @Jen: @Kathy: And here’s the link to the article:
Paging The Supremes, Paging The Supremes. It’s showtime!
ETA: My snip is too short:
Makes an interesting out for SCOTUS, n’est pas?
I suppose a lot of people thought the scene in Blazing Saddles where the Mayor says they’ll accept the Ni-clangs and the Ch***s, but no Irish is funny because it seemed absurd. It’s funnier when you know it’s true.
@Mister Bluster: So am I.
Humans might have selected for dark eyes on dogs.
Fair enough. I read a piece long ago, to the effect that dog domestication caused humans to develop a light sclera. It made it easier for dogs to follow our gaze during hunting. FWIW, I did test my dog, Emm, for that. She would follow my gaze if she could see my eyes*.
On the other hand, other animals have light sclera. And its color is not a thing that’s found on fossils. So, who knows.
I held a chew toy, which she fixated on, then I glanced down, and Emmie looked down to see what I’d found. I phrase it like this, as she returned her attention to the toy when nothing turned up on the floor.
@gVOR10: When I was in college around 1980, a student I knew spent the summer hiking as much of the AT as she could. She had a photo of a sign from a town near the trail, somewhere in the South, that literally said “No N*, Chinese or Irish After Dark”.
@gVOR10:
The first is bribery, the latter extortion.
@Kathy: I’m hoping some constitutional lawyers chime in, because I don’t think this would be a straightforward case for the Supreme Court. The constitution is clear that states govern the “time, places, and manner” of their elections. Congress can “make or alter” regulations, but that isn’t going to happen quickly (if at all).
I’m not sure this is that big of a “bombshell” decision. So far, this bars Trump from the primary ballot, but that’s kind of a “so what” when one looks at how Republicans select candidates. Even barring him from the general election ballot wouldn’t ultimately matter that much–he wasn’t going to win Colorado anyway.
@Bobinyoungstown:
Ellis Island was AN INSPECTION STATION. And immigration was legal and lawful. Do you not understand the difference?
@Brian Andersson: When Ellis Island was opened in 1892, it wasn’t complicated to enter legally. It is now–in fact, the only part of the US code that is more complex than immigration is the US tax code.
The more difficult and complicated we make it to work here, the worse our immigration problems become. The smartest solution would be a guest worker program that allows people to work here LEGALLY without becoming full citizens. How conservatives don’t understand this is beyond me.