January 27, 20214 yr Just throwing this out there, would this be considered gerrymandering on a national level ? Given democrats know they’d be gaining seats in house and senate ?
January 28, 20214 yr 2 hours ago, Talkingbirds said: Just throwing this out there, would this be considered gerrymandering on a national level ? Given democrats know they’d be gaining seats in house and senate ? It's exactly what it is, but I don't have a problem with it. California has 2 senators. Those 2 senators represent more people than the 12 from North Dakota South Dakota Nebraska Iowa Montana Idaho combined. That's why we are where we are as a country and why we had a NSDAP game show host as president. We are being governed by large mostly empty areas of land with a voting populace completely out of touch with how most of civilization lives. Another idea floated out there is divide California into 2 states like they did with Dakota.
January 28, 20214 yr 1 hour ago, Gannan said: It's exactly what it is, but I don't have a problem with it. California has 2 senators. Those 2 senators represent more people than the 12 from North Dakota South Dakota Nebraska Iowa Montana Idaho combined. That's why we are where we are as a country and why we had a NSDAP game show host as president. We are being governed by large mostly empty areas of land with a voting populace completely out of touch with how most of civilization lives. Another idea floated out there is divide California into 2 states like they did with Dakota. They should have some sort representation based on the population of the state. They could give California like 53, and each Dakota only gets 1 each.
January 28, 20214 yr 5 minutes ago, RPeeteRules said: They should have some sort representation based on the population of the state. They could give California like 53, and each Dakota only gets 1 each. I'm fine with it not being completely representative. The concept of the Senate as a "cooling saucer" for House legislation makes some sense to me (although that concept is absolutely abused nowadays to just completely obstruct any opposition legislation). However as @Gannan pointed out the population representation discrepancy has grown to a truly ludicrous point.
January 28, 20214 yr It would be interesting to see who runs for Senate or House from DC. Say a Dem knows he will lose his Senate seat in Ohio, but since most members in Congress live in the city couldn't they switch their residence to DC and run again. Almost like a back up seat for Dems.
January 28, 20214 yr 5 hours ago, Talkingbirds said: Just throwing this out there, would this be considered gerrymandering on a national level ? Given democrats know they’d be gaining seats in house and senate ? If I came up with a compromise, it is this: The non-voting House Rep for DC becomes a full House member. So DC gets its own House district. But DC does not get its own 2 Senators. They rejoin with MD and the recombined MD-DC votes for 2 Senators. (Messy, because both DC and MD have to agree to retrocession, and neither one wants to do it.) After watching Republicans over the last decade and all their shenanigans, I say screw it: Make DC the 51st state. PR statehood up next.
January 28, 20214 yr 9 hours ago, RPeeteRules said: They should have some sort representation based on the population of the state. They could give California like 53, and each Dakota only gets 1 each. I see what you did there.👍
January 29, 20214 yr Author Quote Biden starts staffing a commission on Supreme Court reform He pushed the idea as a candidate during the Amy Coney Barrett confirmation fight. Now, he’s getting it going. The Biden administration is moving forward with the creation of a bipartisan commission to study reforms to the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary. The commission will be housed under the purview of the White House Counsel’s office and filled out with the behind-the-scenes help of the Biden campaign’s lawyer Bob Bauer, who will co-chair the commission. Its specific mandate is still being decided. But, in a signal that the commission is indeed moving ahead, some members have already been selected, according to multiple people familiar with the discussions. Among those who will be on the commission are Cristina Rodríguez, a professor at Yale Law School and a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Obama Department of Justice, who will join Bauer as co-chair. Caroline Fredrickson, the former president of the American Constitution Society, and Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard Law School professor and a former assistant attorney general in the Bush Department of Justice, will also serve on the commission, those familiar with discussions said. Fredrickson has hinted that she is intellectually supportive of ideas like court expansion. In 2019, she said in an interview with Eric Lesh, the executive director of the LGBT Bar Association and Foundation of Greater New York: "I often point out to people who aren't lawyers that the Supreme Court is not defined as ‘nine person body’ in the Constitution, and it has changed size many times.” Rodríguez’s opinions on court reforms are less clear. Goldsmith’s selection, meanwhile, is likely to be the one to frustrate progressives. A senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Goldsmith did not support Trump and is a friend and co-author of Bauer. But he was a vocal advocate of Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the high court — an appointment that sparked Democratic advocacy for expanding the number of Supreme Court seats. "He will also be an influential figure within the Supreme Court building,” Goldsmith wrote in 2018 about Kavanaugh in a Time article titled, "Brett Kavanaugh Will Right the Course of the Supreme Court.” "He is a brilliant analyst with a deep scholarly and practical knowledge of the law. His legal opinions are unusually accessible. He is a magnanimous soul.” Bauer, who is not planning to go into the administration full-time, is himself a proponent of term limits for federal judges. He has been helping with the creation of the commission and, according to a person familiar with the deliberations, initially proposed the idea of forming a commission to study the issue of court reform. "The President remains committed to an expert study of the role and debate over reform of the court and will have more to say in the coming weeks," a White House official said in a statement. The recruitment of members is still ongoing, but a source familiar with the discussion expects between nine and 15 members total to be appointed to the commission. Rodríguez and Goldsmith did not respond to a request for comment, and Fredrickson declined to comment. The idea for a commission came together amid the push by Republican senators to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court in the weeks before the November election. Under intense pressure to consider reforms to the Supreme Court’s composition — including court expansion — Biden performed a classic Washington, D.C., punt. He announced in October that if he was elected, he would form such a commission to study structural changes. But Biden also conceded he is "not a fan of court packing.” "The last thing we need to do is turn the Supreme Court into just a political football, whoever has the most votes gets whatever they want," Biden said in a "60 Minutes” interview in October. "Presidents come and go. Supreme Court justices stay for generations." Progressive groups pushing for court expansion responded with skepticism to Biden’s announcement at the time. And they’ve remained skeptical to this day. "Commissions are often places where ideas go to die and there is no time on the clock to reform the court,” said Aaron Belkin, the director of Take Back the Court, a progressive group advocating for adding seats to the Supreme Court. "The entire agenda of what needs to get done is in jeopardy thanks to stolen federal courts.” "We know,” he added, "that court expansion is the only strategy to allow the administration to solve the problems facing the country.” An administration official said the commission is part of a broader court review and reform effort, part of which will focus on lower courts. Progressives’ push to expand the Supreme Court was reenergized after Democrats won both Georgia Senate runoff races in January, giving them control of the White House and Congress for the first time since 2010. But any major structural reform would still be a heavy lift, as several Democratic senators have signaled their opposition to such measures. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday he was waiting for Biden’s commission to decide a path forward on reforms to the Supreme Court. "President Biden has put together this commission to come up with a report in 180 days,” he said in an MSNBC interview this week. "We’re going to see what the commission says and go from there.”https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/27/biden-supreme-court-reform-463126
January 29, 20214 yr Author Yesterday's news: Quote Biden To Sign 2 Executive Actions Related To Health Care Washington — President Biden on Thursday signed a series of health care-related directives he described as reversing "the damage" done by former President Donald Trump, which including taking action to rescind and target anti-abortion rules. "I'm not initiating any new law, any new aspect of the law," Mr. Biden said in brief remarks from the Oval Office. The president said he is "restoring the Affordable Care Act and restoring the Medicaid to the way it was before Trump became president, which by fiat he changed, made more inaccessible, more expensive and more difficult for people to qualify for either of those two items."Mr. Biden's executive order allows for HealthCare.gov, the federal health insurance marketplace, to open for a special enrollment period from February 15 to May 15, which will allow Americans more time to sign up for health insurance coverage. The order also directs federal agencies to review rules and policies to ensure they do not hinder Americans' access to health care, such as those that may reduce affordability of health coverage or undermine the Affordable Care Act's protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Mr. Biden also issued a presidential memorandum unwinding the Mexico City Policy, known as the global gag rule, which prohibits U.S. dollars from flowing to international non-governmental organizations that provide abortions, advocate to legalize and expand abortion access, or provide abortion counseling. The rule dates back to 1984, under President Ronald Reagan, but has been revoked and reinstated by Democratic and Republican administrations, respectively. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama rescinded the policy, while Mr. Trump re-enacted and expanded it. Mr. Biden's memorandum also directs the Department of Health and Human Services to review potentially dismantling a similar policy in the U.S. that bars money from Title X from going to health care centers that provide abortion services. The president, who was vice president when Obamacare was enacted, vowed during his presidential campaign to protect and expand the 2010 health care law, as a group of Republican states and the Trump administration fought to kill Obamacare in a case pending before the Supreme Court. Mr. Biden has stressed that the coronavirus pandemic underscores the need for access to health care.https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-signs-health-care-access-executive-orders/
January 29, 20214 yr sooooo, has the earth been sucked into a black hole yet ? i mean the dumpster crowd predicted the end of the world if trump lost and their theories and predictions are never wrong.
January 29, 20214 yr 14 minutes ago, Alpha_TATEr said: sooooo, has the earth been sucked into a black hole yet ? i mean the dumpster crowd predicted the end of the world if trump lost and their theories and predictions are never wrong. They are just waiting for the access codes to the Jewish space laser so then can take us all down.
January 29, 20214 yr 37 minutes ago, Alpha_TATEr said: sooooo, has the earth been sucked into a black hole yet ? i mean the dumpster crowd predicted the end of the world if trump lost and their theories and predictions are never wrong. they're busy tracking hourly gas prices, brah.
January 29, 20214 yr Author Rapid-fire update: Quote Biden has signed 42 executive actions since taking office. Here's what each does Updated 11:00 AM ET, Fri January 29, 2021 Health care 'Executive Order on Strengthening Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.' Reopens enrollment on HealthCare.gov from February 15 through May 15, and directs federal agencies to reexamine policies that may reduce or undermine access to the Affordable Care Act. 'Memorandum on Protecting Women's Health at Home and Abroad.' Rescinds the "Mexico City Policy," a ban on US government funding for foreign nonprofits that perform or promote abortions. The memorandum also directs the US Health and Human Services Department to immediately move to consider rescinding the Trump administration rule blocking health care providers in the federally funded Title X family planning program from referring patients for abortions, according to the Biden administration. Environment 'Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.' Seeks to cement the climate crisis at the center of US foreign policy and national security. Most notably, it directs the secretary of the interior to pause on entering into new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or offshore waters. The order also: Instructs Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to prepare a national intelligence estimate on the security implications of the climate crisis and directs all agencies to develop strategies for integrating climate considerations into their international work. Establishes the National Climate Task Force, assembling leaders from across 21 federal agencies and departments. Commits to environmental justice and new, clean infrastructure projects. Kicks off development of emissions reduction target. Establishes the special presidential envoy for climate on the National Security Council. 'Executive Order on Establishing President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.' Reestablishes the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Moving forward, the council will advise Biden on policy that affects science, technology and innovation. 'Memorandum on Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking.' Charges the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy with responsibility for ensuring scientific integrity across federal agencies. Agencies that oversee, direct or fund research are tasked with designating senior agency employees as chief science officers to ensure agency research programs are scientifically and technologically well founded. 'Paris Climate Agreement.' Rejoins the Paris climate accord, the landmark international agreement signed in 2015 to limit global warming. 'Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.' Cancels the Keystone XL pipeline and directs agencies to review and reverse more than 100 Trump actions on the environment. Equity 'Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government." Rescinds the Trump administration's 1776 Commission, and directs agencies to review their actions to ensure racial equity. 'Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation.' Prevents workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. 'Memorandum Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.' Acknowledges the rise in discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the past year, directing HHS to consider issuing guidance on best practices to improve "cultural competency, language access and sensitivity toward AAPIs" in the federal government's Covid-19 response. The memorandum also directs the Department of Justice to partner with Asian American and Pacific Islander communities to prevent hate crimes and harassment. 'Executive Order on Reforming Our Incarceration System to Eliminate the Use of Privately Operated Criminal Detention Facilities.' Directs the attorney general not to renew federal contracts with private prisons. 'Memorandum on Redressing Our Nation's and the Federal Government's History of Discriminatory Housing Practices and Policies.' Directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development to review the Trump administration's regulatory actions for their effects on fair housing and to then "take steps necessary" to comply with the Fair Housing Act. 'Memorandum on Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships.' Recommits federal agencies to "engage in regular, robust and meaningful consultation with Tribal governments." 'Executive Order on Enabling All Qualified Americans to Serve Their Country in Uniform.' Reverses the Trump administration's ban on transgender Americans joining the military. Economy 'Executive Order on Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America's Workers.' Strengthens Buy American rules by closing loopholes and reducing waivers granted on federal purchases of domestic goods. 'Executive Order on Protecting the Federal Workforce.' Restores collective bargaining power and worker protections for federal workers, and lays the foundation for a $15 minimum wage. 'Executive Order on Economic Relief Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic.' Calls for assistance to those who are struggling to buy food, missed out on stimulus checks or are unemployed. 'Pausing Federal Student Loan Payments.' Extends the existing pause on student loan payments and interest for Americans with federal student loans until at least September 30. 'Extend Eviction and Foreclosure Moratoriums.' Extends the existing nationwide moratorium on evictions and foreclosures until at least March 31. Covid-19 'Proclamation on the Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Non-Immigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who Pose a Risk of Transmitting Coronavirus Disease.' Reinstates Covid-19 travel restrictions for individuals traveling to the United States from Brazil, the Schengen area, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. 'Memorandum to Extend Federal Support to Governors' Use of the National Guard to Respond to COVID-19 and to Increase Reimbursement and Other Assistance Provided to States.' Directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency to expand reimbursement to states to fully cover the cost for National Guard personnel and emergency supplies. 'Executive Order on a Sustainable Public Health Supply Chain.' Accelerates manufacturing and delivery of supplies for vaccination, testing and personal protective equipment. 'Executive Order on Establishing the COVID-19 Pandemic Testing Board and Ensuring a Sustainable Public Health Workforce for COVID-19 and Other Biological Threats.' Establishes the Pandemic Testing Board to expand US coronavirus testing capacity. 'Executive Order on Improving and Expanding Access to Care and Treatments for COVID-19.' Establishes a preclinical program to boost development of therapeutics in response. 'Executive Order on Ensuring a Data-Driven Response to COVID-19 and Future High-Consequence Public Health Threats.' Enhances the nation's collection, production, sharing and analysis of coronavirus data. 'Create more vaccination sites.' Directs FEMA to create federally supported community vaccination centers. 'Executive Order on Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers.' Directs the Department of Education and HHS to provide guidance for safely reopening and operating schools, child care providers and institutions of higher education. 'Executive Order on Protecting Worker Health and Safety.' Calls on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to release clear guidance on Covid-19 and to decide whether to establish emergency temporary standards, and directs OSHA to enforce worker health and safety requirements. 'Executive Order on Promoting COVID-19 Safety in Domestic and International Travel.' Requires mask-wearing in airports and on certain modes of transportation, including many trains, airplanes, maritime vessels and intercity buses. International travelers must provide proof of negative Covid-19 tests prior to coming to the US. 'Executive Order on Ensuring an Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery.' Creates the Covid-19 Health Equity Task Force to help ensure an equitable pandemic response and recovery. 'National Security Directive on United States Global Leadership to Strengthen the International COVID-19 Response and to Advance Global Health Security and Biological Preparedness.' A presidential directive to restore America's leadership, support the international pandemic response effort, promote resilience for future threats and advance global health security and the Global Health Security Agenda. 'Executive Order on Protecting the Federal Workforce and Requiring Mask-Wearing.' Launches a "100 Days Masking Challenge" asking Americans to wear masks for 100 days. Requires masks and physical distancing in federal buildings, on federal lands and by government contractors, and urges states and local governments to do the same. 'Letter to His Excellency António Guterres.' Stops the United States' withdrawal from the World Health Organization, with Dr. Anthony Fauci becoming the head of the delegation to the WHO. 'Executive Order on Organizing and Mobilizing the United States Government to Provide a Unified and Effective Response to Combat COVID-19 and to Provide United States Leadership on Global Health and Security.' Creates the position of Covid-19 response coordinator, reporting directly to Biden and managing efforts to produce and distribute vaccines and medical equipment. Census 'Executive Order on Ensuring a Lawful and Accurate Enumeration and Apportionment Pursuant to the Decennial Census.' Requires noncitizens to be included in the census and apportionment of congressional representatives. Immigration 'Preserving and Fortifying Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.' Strengthens DACA after Trump's efforts to undo protections for undocumented people brought into the country as children. 'Proclamation on Ending Discriminatory Bans on Entry to the United States.' Reverses the Trump administration's restrictions on US entry for passport holders from seven Muslim-majority countries. 'Executive Order on the Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities.' Undoes Trump's expansion of immigration enforcement. 'Proclamation on the Termination of Emergency With Respect to the Southern Border of the United States and Redirection of Funds Diverted to Border Wall Construction.' Halts construction of the border wall by terminating the national emergency declaration used to fund it. 'Reinstating Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians.' Extends deferrals of deportation and work authorizations for Liberians with a haven in the United States until June 30, 2022. Ethics 'Executive Order on Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel.' Requires executive branch appointees to sign an ethics pledge barring them from acting in personal interest and requiring them to uphold the independence of the Department of Justice. Regulation 'Modernizing Regulatory Review.' Directs the White House Office of Management and Budget director to develop recommendations to modernize regulatory review and undoes Trump's regulatory approval process.https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/29/politics/biden-executive-orders-climate-health-care-coronavirus-immigration/index.html?utm_term=link&utm_medium=social&utm_source=fbCNN&utm_content=2021-01-29T17%3A31%3A47&fbclid=IwAR1fbyYcDWRmaLtBplKkZsLvC8h3a7_QTim-yTNtl_xblotXcvkztJ6uamI
January 29, 20214 yr 1 hour ago, EaglesRocker97 said: Rapid-fire update: You know more information about the executive orders than Biden does.
January 29, 20214 yr https://www.google.com/amp/s/wtop.com/dc/2020/10/dcs-shadow-senators-and-the-fight-for-statehood/amp/
January 30, 20214 yr 17 hours ago, EaglesRocker97 said: Rapid-fire update: The pen is mightier then the Congress.
January 31, 20214 yr 1 hour ago, Toty said: @Bwestbrook36 you have responded with "confused" to be clear, I made a butt Lol!! I was confused by the randomness of the post more then I was confused as to what you made
January 31, 20214 yr 7 minutes ago, Toty said: I understand what you're saying but I already bought an ascot... I'm wearing it now. It's blue. Sounds gorgeous 😉
February 2, 20214 yr Author Biden says 1.9T, Republicans offer $618B. I say we meet in the middle at 1.28T. Fair?
February 2, 20214 yr 1 hour ago, EaglesRocker97 said: Biden says 1.9T, Republicans offer $618B. I say we meet in the middle at 1.28T. Fair? I think they are stuck on the stimulus checks again and what the cut off point is on how much someone can make to get one. I believe the Republicans want 50,000 as the cut off.
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