Trump 2024

[Superbone]

OK, then how about the relatively small number of border crossings now? How about the Republicans blocking sanctions that most everybody agreed to after Trump asked them to for his political gain?

[Nodack]

No doubt immigration is a huge topic. My point is that the GOP isn’t being honest about actually caring about fixing the problem and instead cares a great deal more about using immigration as a political tool to get votes.

[BigLewy]

Yes, border crossings have decreased now. I'm not denying that. I'm saying that before this, it was a disaster and Biden waited over 3 years to do anything about it. By then, the damage was done.

[Nodack]

Well, the Republicans had a great chance to do something about it and then punted.

[Mori Chu]

Is it completely sacrilegious for me to say that I almost never think about the border in any capacity? I just don't see any impact of the border on me or my life. I do care, in the abstract, about having a secure border and not letting things get too crazy. But based on the way the border is talked about on Fox etc., you would think that the US is an absolute hellhole of drugs, crime, and chaos if the border changes a bit under "blue" policies. Is it? Do you guys see and feel effects of border policy changes that impact your lives?

[BigLewy]

Is it completely sacrilegious for me to say that I almost never think about the border in any capacity? I just don't see any impact of the border on me or my life. I do care, in the abstract, about having a secure border and not letting things get too crazy. But based on the way the border is talked about on Fox etc., you would think that the US is an absolute hellhole of drugs, crime, and chaos if the border changes a bit under "blue" policies. Is it? Do you guys see and feel effects of border policy changes that impact your lives?

That's a fair statement. I would imagine that if you live in an area that is not close to sanctuary cities, or close to the border itself, it probably has no impact on your daily life. I would think that your opinion would change if you were in cities like NYC, Chicago and Denver that have had migrant influxes, or some areas of Massachusetts where they are having neighborhoods disrupted due to migrants. I've seen a little bit of it in my area, but have also kept up to speed by doing research online. The sheer numbers are staggering, and the system is overflowing and there's no way to properly vet those coming through because of the number of crossings. Most of them are probably fine, but you obviously run the risk of gang members, career criminals, drug lords, etc. coming through without being vetted, and that's why you've seen some of the headlines recently, and the resulting outrage.

I think the biggest issue for most people is all of the costs associated with housing and feeding the millions of migrants. The money has to come from somewhere, and that is almost always the taxpayers. So the people most affected by this are rightfully annoyed that so much money is being used up for this.

[Superbone]

Is it completely sacrilegious for me to say that I almost never think about the border in any capacity? I just don't see any impact of the border on me or my life. I do care, in the abstract, about having a secure border and not letting things get too crazy. But based on the way the border is talked about on Fox etc., you would think that the US is an absolute hellhole of drugs, crime, and chaos if the border changes a bit under "blue" policies. Is it? Do you guys see and feel effects of border policy changes that impact your lives?

That's a very good point. Kind of similar to when Fox showed all these fires and turmoil in cities. I lived in San Diego for the last 24 years and never saw anything to make me think that illegal border crossing was an issue. Same for Arizona before that. Both on the border but San Diego much closer.

[Mori Chu]

I lived in Tucson for 20 years. You would run into the occasional Mexican guy outside of Home Depot or working in a restaurant kitchen who didn't speak good English and might have been illegal. But Tucson wasn't a hellhole, a cesspool. It was fine. My point is not that the border is 100% fine or that this is not a salient political issue. But is it more important than so many other issues? It just doesn't affect me nearly as much as lots of other things.

[virtual9mm]

I have been an immigrant twice now (call me an "expat" if you want to attach privileges) and I am in favor of more immigration -- not less. Should just be a legal pathway.

I do understand that folks who don't have the kind of international exposure that I do might be hesitant but immigration is how the US stays ahead.

[In2ition]

Calling her dumb makes Trump look like an immature asshole. It probably makes Maga all warm and fuzzy inside.

It is unfathomable how immature the former president is. And if his base likes that, they are too. It's pretty incredible. He loves to make fun of people's names. Just saw another one yesterday, I can't remember who it was. This is grade school type stuff. If you told our founding fathers that a future POTUS would act like that, they wouldn't believe you. He's got the mind of a 7th grader.

It all comes down to three things:

1. Can Kamala perform and execute? So far, she's gotten off to an absolutely brilliant start. Let's see if she can keep it up.

2. Can Trump pin her to immigration policy? If so, can she point to reduced crossings and turn this around on him?

3. Will her appeal to black and female voters in the Sun Belt outweigh the inevitable loss in white male votes in places like Michigan?

All open questions.

1. It's barely been 24 hrs. Well, she took the first step out of the blocks without stumbling, except almost thanked Biden for the "recording" on that telephone call in to her campaign.

2. Slavery in the US has never been higher than today, since the Civil War. That's thanks to Kamala, who never even visted the border after being named Border Czar.. It also has been the single greatest numbers of illegal crossings in history. Both southern and northern border.

3. I'm sure you are right and she will try to appeal to Black women, but she doesn't seem to have much in common with Black women. Her mother is from India, and her father is from Jamaica or the Bahamas and that side of the family actually owned black slaves. Her husband is white and her kids are white.

She also imprisoned thousands of young black men for smoking weed, while laughing that she smoked weed herself.

She also has a bad track record in regards to keeping some people in prison after they were exonerated, and then argued with the board trying to deny compensation for the false imprisonment.

[In2ition]

I lived in Tucson for 20 years. You would run into the occasional Mexican guy outside of Home Depot or working in a restaurant kitchen who didn't speak good English and might have been illegal. But Tucson wasn't a hellhole, a cesspool. It was fine. My point is not that the border is 100% fine or that this is not a salient political issue. But is it more important than so many other issues? It just doesn't affect me nearly as much as lots of other things.

Tucson is a hellhole and a cesspool. Have you been there lately? It's not even about Mexican immigrants. We probably all know and have friends that are from Mexico originally. We have had immigrants from nearly every country come over illegally. I thought I heard people from over 86 different countries have been caught at the northern border alone. It's about who's being allowed to run the borders(Cartels) and who is being smuggled in without vetting. You still haven't acknowledged the poor 8 yr old that was repeating raped by over 60 different men at the border. That's heart breaking. That's on the Border Czar.

[In2ition]

Is it completely sacrilegious for me to say that I almost never think about the border in any capacity? I just don't see any impact of the border on me or my life. I do care, in the abstract, about having a secure border and not letting things get too crazy. But based on the way the border is talked about on Fox etc., you would think that the US is an absolute hellhole of drugs, crime, and chaos if the border changes a bit under "blue" policies. Is it? Do you guys see and feel effects of border policy changes that impact your lives?

That's a very good point. Kind of similar to when Fox showed all these fires and turmoil in cities. I lived in San Diego for the last 24 years and never saw anything to make me think that illegal border crossing was an issue. Same for Arizona before that. Both on the border but San Diego much closer.

How far did you live from the border in AZ?

[Mori Chu]

Tucson is a hellhole and a cesspool. Have you been there lately? It's not even about Mexican immigrants. We probably all know and have friends that are from Mexico originally. We have had immigrants from nearly every country come over illegally. I thought I heard people from over 86 different countries have been caught at the northern border alone. It's about who's being allowed to run the borders(Cartels) and who is being smuggled in without vetting. You still haven't acknowledged the poor 8 yr old that was repeating raped by over 60 different men at the border. That's heart breaking. That's on the Border Czar.

I have visited AZ each of the last five years, and it has been lovely each time. I saw no cesspool.

[In2ition]

Is it completely sacrilegious for me to say that I almost never think about the border in any capacity? I just don't see any impact of the border on me or my life. I do care, in the abstract, about having a secure border and not letting things get too crazy. But based on the way the border is talked about on Fox etc., you would think that the US is an absolute hellhole of drugs, crime, and chaos if the border changes a bit under "blue" policies. Is it? Do you guys see and feel effects of border policy changes that impact your lives?

I'm not trying to poke you or call you out, Mori, and I believe that you are being entirely honest about not thinking about it. I just want to point out one thing, that you had a complete meltdown when the media told you that Trump was putting kids in cages. Nevermind that thos cages were built by the Obama regime. And you didn't readdress it when Biden did the same when he came into office. It's just another example of the media dealing out their "15 minutes of hate", and trying their best to divide us and hate each other.

[In2ition]

Tucson is a hellhole and a cesspool. Have you been there lately? It's not even about Mexican immigrants. We probably all know and have friends that are from Mexico originally. We have had immigrants from nearly every country come over illegally. I thought I heard people from over 86 different countries have been caught at the northern border alone. It's about who's being allowed to run the borders(Cartels) and who is being smuggled in without vetting. You still haven't acknowledged the poor 8 yr old that was repeating raped by over 60 different men at the border. That's heart breaking. That's on the Border Czar.

I have visited AZ each of the last five years, and it has been lovely each time. I saw no cesspool.

I went to the UofA last ladt year for my neices graduation from architect school, and there were homeless everywhere, even tents above the freeway in an area that shouldn't even be accessible. I'm not a fan of their urban planning. Every street looks like Bell Rd or Cave Creek Rd.

[In2ition]

Not surprised after watching her testify yesterday. Really disappointed in her ability to disclose basic information that anyone could go and find on twitter. She needed to be forthcoming with information and doesn't help with all of the rampant conspiracy theories.

Yeah, I agree. I watched the clips of her at the Congressional hearing the other day. I didn't enter into it with a strong opinion about her or whether she should be fired or resign or whatever. But as I watched her answer the questions I saw a mix of not knowing things / giving clear answers, not really accepting accountability and responsibility, a lack of foresight and common sense, and a certain defensiveness. I didn't like what I saw. It left me disappointed in her and now I'm not sad that she's resigning. I don't hold her solely responsible for the assassination attempt, but it seems like she should have done more to keep Trump safe and accepted more responsibility for the lapses in security.

Is it true that she was appointed because she was a friend of Jill's and it was her recommendation?

[Mori Chu]

I went to the UofA last ladt year for my neices graduation from architect school, and there were homeless everywhere, even tents above the freeway in an area that shouldn't even be accessible. I'm not a fan of their urban planning. Every street looks like Bell Rd or Cave Creek Rd.

Isn't that a homelessness problem, not an immigration problem? Was every homeless person you saw an illegal immigrant? How would you know?

[Mori Chu]

I'm not trying to poke you or call you out, Mori, and I believe that you are being entirely honest about not thinking about it. I just want to point out one thing, that you had a complete meltdown when the media told you that Trump was putting kids in cages. Nevermind that thos cages were built by the Obama regime. And you didn't readdress it when Biden did the same when he came into office. It's just another example of the media dealing out their "15 minutes of hate", and trying their best to divide us and hate each other.

I was quite upset about kids in cages. I don't think this inconsistent with not thinking about the border very much. My point is, I don't think the border is a "disaster" or "crisis" that merits panic, nor merits brutally mistreating people apprehended near the border by putting them into cages and separating them from their families.

[specialsauce]

Is it completely sacrilegious for me to say that I almost never think about the border in any capacity? I just don't see any impact of the border on me or my life. I do care, in the abstract, about having a secure border and not letting things get too crazy. But based on the way the border is talked about on Fox etc., you would think that the US is an absolute hellhole of drugs, crime, and chaos if the border changes a bit under "blue" policies. Is it? Do you guys see and feel effects of border policy changes that impact your lives?

You don't live in Arizona.

Arizona is an absolute hellhole of meth. Almost every homeless guy or girl I come across is on meth and I see at multiple fentanyl overdose/abusers every day. They're 50 cents a pill on the streets.

[In2ition]

I went to the UofA last ladt year for my neices graduation from architect school, and there were homeless everywhere, even tents above the freeway in an area that shouldn't even be accessible. I'm not a fan of their urban planning. Every street looks like Bell Rd or Cave Creek Rd.

Isn't that a homelessness problem, not an immigration problem? Was every homeless person you saw an illegal immigrant? How would you know?

A Tucson problem.