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Joe Biden 2021


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1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

I don't think everyone should waste time in college for many of the degrees. If 2 years of community college means and supports things like trade schools, to become things like electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, welders and machinists, well, I'm perfectly fine with that concept. Fuck, even bookkeeping programs and whatnot. There's lots of ways to skin the cat, and I think in the long run it might be better than offering free college for everyone so a bunch of people can get degrees in literature and shit that also won't pay anything or offer many jobs, etc. 

Very much agreed on the "trades" end of it.

But on the more "academic" end, two years of free juco will short-circuit a lot of "poor" and "first generation" college students from biting off more than they can chew (financially and every other way) at some faraway, possibly mediocre liberal arts college.  They'll get to live at home and take classes and get their feet wet for free, and if they go on, only finance a couple of years at Oberlin or Kenyon or whatever.  And maybe make a rational choice for a major in a low-stakes, low-pressure environment.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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3 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Well, I mean, if I'm understanding their comments correctly, JimmyJazz and Biff do not actually agree?

no, i think they're talking about the engineers who used to walk around the 40 with "Get a Real Major" shirts. 

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32 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Very much agreed on the "trades" end of it.

But on the more "academic" end, two years of free juco will short-circuit a lot of "poor" and "first generation" college students from biting off more than they can chew (financially and every other way) at some faraway, possibly mediocre liberal arts college.  They'll get to live at home and take classes and get their feet wet for free, and if they go on, only finance a couple of years at Oberlin or Kenyon or whatever.  And maybe make a rational choice for a major in a low-stakes, low-pressure environment.

I know a guy who is a well to do lawyer now; he spent 2 years in one of the Houston JUCO schools before transferring into UT as a junior and knocking out his BA. Seems like a smart path if at the start, you are a smart person. This guy could have gone to UT or A&M or wherever on his own merit and didn't HAVE to do the juco route. His parents just advised him that he should live at home for 2 years and save money and it will be better in the long run.

That is how I see this policy working for people. Cutting down the investment needed to maximize your earnings means you get into the green faster and, like compound interest, your financial life is healthy and comfortable faster.

Also, a benefit is a "fail fast/fail cheap" mechanism here where if you find you aren't the studious or college type; you haven't sunk $50k to find out you like to drink Natty Light and eat Taco bell and never go to class.

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https://apnews.com/article/ahmaud-arbery-georgia-hate-crimes-crime-government-and-politics-ef101bfbf96f3ee921c29c6dcf89e7eb


 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department brought federal hate crimes charges Wednesday in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, charging a father and son who armed themselves, chased and fatally shot the 25-year-old Black man after spotting him running in their Georgia neighborhood.

Spoiler

Travis McMichael and his father, Gregory, were charged along with a third man, William “Roddie” Bryan, with one count of interference with civil rights and attempted kidnapping. The McMichaels are also charged with using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

The case is the most significant civil rights prosecution undertaken to date by the Biden administration Justice Department and comes as federal officials have moved quickly to open sweeping investigations into troubled police departments as civil rights takes center stage among the department’s priorities.

The indictment charges that the McMichaels “armed themselves with firearms, got into a truck and chased Arbery through the public streets of the neighborhood while yelling at Arbery, using their truck to cut off his route and threatening him with firearms.” It also alleges that Bryan got into a truck and then chased Arbery, using the vehicle to block his path.

Arbery, 25, was killed on Feb. 23, 2020, by three close-range shotgun blasts after the McMichaels pursued him in a pickup truck as he was running through their neighborhood. Arbery had been dead for more than two months when a cellphone video of the shooting was leaked online and a national outcry erupted.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case the next day and swiftly arrested Travis McMichael, who fired the shots, his father, and Bryan, a neighbor who joined the pursuit and took the video. The three men remain jailed on state murder charges and are due back in court in May.

The McMichaels’ lawyers have said they pursued Arbery, suspecting he was a burglar, after security cameras had previously recorded him entering a home under construction. They say Travis McMichael shot Arbery while fearing for his life as they grappled over a shotgun.

Local prosecutors have said Arbery stole nothing and was merely out jogging when the McMichaels and Bryan chased him.

The Justice Department alleges that the men “used force and threats of force to intimidate and interfere with Arbery’s right to use a public street because of his race.”

At the time Arbery was killed, Georgia was one of just four U.S. states without a hate crimes law. Amid the outcry over his death, Georgia lawmakers quickly passed a law allowing for an additional penalty for certain crimes found to be motivated by a victim’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, or mental or physical disability.

The men charged with murdering Arbery won’t face hate crime penalties at the state level because the law was changed after the killing.

Attorneys for Travis McMichael said they were disappointed “that the Justice Department bought the false narrative that the media and state prosecutors have promulgated.”

“There is absolutely nothing in the indictment that identifies how this is a federal hate crime and it ignores without apology that Georgia law allows a citizen to detain a person who was committing burglaries until police arrive,” attorneys Bob Rubin and Jason Sheffield said.

Gregory McMichael’s attorneys, Frank and Laura Hogue, did not immediately respond Wednesday to an email seeking comment and Bryan’s attorney, Kevin Gough, said he had no immediate comment because he had not read the federal indictment.

So shines a good deed ...

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12 minutes ago, Willfully Horn said:

https://apnews.com/article/ahmaud-arbery-georgia-hate-crimes-crime-government-and-politics-ef101bfbf96f3ee921c29c6dcf89e7eb


 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department brought federal hate crimes charges Wednesday in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, charging a father and son who armed themselves, chased and fatally shot the 25-year-old Black man after spotting him running in their Georgia neighborhood.

  Hide contents

Travis McMichael and his father, Gregory, were charged along with a third man, William “Roddie” Bryan, with one count of interference with civil rights and attempted kidnapping. The McMichaels are also charged with using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

The case is the most significant civil rights prosecution undertaken to date by the Biden administration Justice Department and comes as federal officials have moved quickly to open sweeping investigations into troubled police departments as civil rights takes center stage among the department’s priorities.

The indictment charges that the McMichaels “armed themselves with firearms, got into a truck and chased Arbery through the public streets of the neighborhood while yelling at Arbery, using their truck to cut off his route and threatening him with firearms.” It also alleges that Bryan got into a truck and then chased Arbery, using the vehicle to block his path.

Arbery, 25, was killed on Feb. 23, 2020, by three close-range shotgun blasts after the McMichaels pursued him in a pickup truck as he was running through their neighborhood. Arbery had been dead for more than two months when a cellphone video of the shooting was leaked online and a national outcry erupted.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case the next day and swiftly arrested Travis McMichael, who fired the shots, his father, and Bryan, a neighbor who joined the pursuit and took the video. The three men remain jailed on state murder charges and are due back in court in May.

The McMichaels’ lawyers have said they pursued Arbery, suspecting he was a burglar, after security cameras had previously recorded him entering a home under construction. They say Travis McMichael shot Arbery while fearing for his life as they grappled over a shotgun.

Local prosecutors have said Arbery stole nothing and was merely out jogging when the McMichaels and Bryan chased him.

The Justice Department alleges that the men “used force and threats of force to intimidate and interfere with Arbery’s right to use a public street because of his race.”

At the time Arbery was killed, Georgia was one of just four U.S. states without a hate crimes law. Amid the outcry over his death, Georgia lawmakers quickly passed a law allowing for an additional penalty for certain crimes found to be motivated by a victim’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, or mental or physical disability.

The men charged with murdering Arbery won’t face hate crime penalties at the state level because the law was changed after the killing.

Attorneys for Travis McMichael said they were disappointed “that the Justice Department bought the false narrative that the media and state prosecutors have promulgated.”

“There is absolutely nothing in the indictment that identifies how this is a federal hate crime and it ignores without apology that Georgia law allows a citizen to detain a person who was committing burglaries until police arrive,” attorneys Bob Rubin and Jason Sheffield said.

Gregory McMichael’s attorneys, Frank and Laura Hogue, did not immediately respond Wednesday to an email seeking comment and Bryan’s attorney, Kevin Gough, said he had no immediate comment because he had not read the federal indictment.

So shines a good deed ...

This will be entirely predictable for me, but I prefer the feds stay their hand on this stuff until the state CJ system runs its course.

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45 minutes ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

that's the way it should be

It’s actually a historic moment as no POTUS has taken the dais with 2 women behind him. Otherwise, it’ll be calming, reassuring and not full of lies, hatred and fear porn 

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17 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

I think a history degree is as important as an engineering degree. That is my point. 

I don’t disagree. But I’d argue it should mostly be pursued by folks that will be teachers, going into academia as a career, or going immediately into a graduate degree program like law or an mba. 

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From the WH fact sheet. 

The President’s proposal would change the game—by making sure the wealthiest Americans play by the same set of rules as all other Americans.It would require financial institutions to report information on account flows so that earnings from investments and business activity are subject to reporting more like wages already are.” 


On everyone’s accounts? Everywhere? Wouldn’t that be maximum Big Brother financial surveillance? Where are the details?

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31 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

I don’t disagree. But I’d argue it should mostly be pursued by folks that will be teachers, going into academia as a career, or going immediately into a graduate degree program like law or an mba. 

How many 18 year olds have any real clue what they want to do?  In any field?  

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9 minutes ago, GRHorn said:

From the WH fact sheet. 

The President’s proposal would change the game—by making sure the wealthiest Americans play by the same set of rules as all other Americans.It would require financial institutions to report information on account flows so that earnings from investments and business activity are subject to reporting more like wages already are.” 


On everyone’s accounts? Everywhere? Wouldn’t that be maximum Big Brother financial surveillance? Where are the details?

Yours especially. Bitcoin ain’t gonna be free money anymore brah. 

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1 minute ago, SydneyCarton said:

Not many. Sounds like maybe 2 years of JUCO for free to figure it out makes sense? 

I mean, I wouldn’t say no to that, but why should that preclude people that get into good schools?  Why if I get into Harvard should my career path be set from the get go?  Should I go to Bunker Hill Community College for free and hope I can get into Harvard after that instead?

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35 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

I mean, I wouldn’t say no to that, but why should that preclude people that get into good schools?  Why if I get into Harvard should my career path be set from the get go?  Should I go to Bunker Hill Community College for free and hope I can get into Harvard after that instead?

Do you think people who get into Harvard can’t afford it or struggle to find ways to pay for it, or, at worst, struggle to pay back loans? Why would you plan for the exceptions/minority? If I’m getting into Harvard I’m gambling on myself. 

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2 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

I know, but it was funny.  To further this shit show, do you think that everyone who gets into Harvard should know exactly what they want to do and should be able to afford it if they don't?

I mean I don’t have a problem with it. Also, does free college for everyone include free room and board? How Many years can they Tommy Boy it? What are the restrictions? What are the penalties? If you leave a military academy after two years, you have to pay it back. There’s a lot to figure out. I think a 2 year juco and trade school option is a great way to start while we figure out the rest. It solves a lot of problems and offers opportunity for many while we figure out how make sure the kids who want 2 years of drinking and fucking before they have to get serious about school still have their cake and eat it too. 

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1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

I mean I don’t have a problem with it. Also, does free college for everyone include free room and board? How Many years can they Tommy Boy it? What are the restrictions? What are the penalties? If you leave a military academy after two years, you have to pay it back. There’s a lot to figure out. I think a 2 year juco and trade school option is a great way to start while we figure out the rest. It solves a lot of problems and offers opportunity for many while we figure out how make sure the kids who want 2 years of drinking and fucking before they have to get serious about school still have their cake and eat it too. 

Yes.  There's a lot to figure out.  Much like Prop B in Austin.  Ah whatever.  I'm the homeless guy that wanders off in this conversation.

WellwornBrownAmericanshorthair-size_rest

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Just now, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

Anyone else planning to watch Biden's speech tonight? May tune in a for bit. Will be the first time in about 5 years I've watched a presidential address.

I’ll likely watch. With only about 200 in the audience versus the usual 600+, it should go faster?

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1 minute ago, Js1 said:

I’ll likely watch. With only about 200 in the audience versus the usual 600+, it should go faster?

sorta hoping the 200 are all R's who were identified as assisting the insurrection and all get arrested on the spot. I'll have some lotion and paper towels on hand just in case.

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53 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Yours especially. Bitcoin ain’t gonna be free money anymore brah. 

Nowadays Bitcoin is far less about tax avoidance. It’s extremely difficult for an American to buy BTC from entity where you don’t go through kyc. I know I’m going to pay taxes. 
 

Bitcoin is more about wealth preservation and opting out of a corrupt system. It’s also censorship resistant, which is something that is becoming more and more appealing as time goes by. How much of a leap is it from the US Gov tracking all flows of funds in every bank account to we don’t approve of that transaction so we’re stopping it directly? That’s dystopian bullshit and I’m not down for that. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that people over look something like that. 
 

There’s a chance that I’m jumping to conclusions here, but there was not a lot of specifics given on what accounts they would like to track. Only accounts over a certain size? Only certain kinds of businesses? The parameters will be expanded. 
 

In any event it’s a crappy thing to drop in a massive bill like this. But again, people here are all, “GO IRS!” 🤦🏻‍♂️ 

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I think it’d be great if parents, teachers and high schools didn’t push “you’re a loser if you don’t go to college right after HS” as well. Some need to work a service job for a better appreciation of what’s available and where they fit in before staring down a lifetime of BS 
 

2 years in CC when you’re ready for it and figuring out where to go afterwards as a possible next step is a hell of a lot better than going into debt for a UT degree plan at 18 and bailing on a loan after a year.

 

Edited by StassneyHorn
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Mid-life crisis, I'm considering a degree that is in the liberal arts area, very different from what I originally went to school for in the 90s, so I'm taking some classes at Austin Community College just to get a feel for getting back into school for another degree after 20+ years before going back to UT.  Somehow I'm actually a class or two from an associate's based on what I took last fall, what I'm taking now, and everything that transferred in from UT and elsewhere (I don't know if I want to actually do it, but I almost feel like knocking out two classes this summer and getting another degree, even if it's a two year).  Being online made it easier, but most of my profs also teach at UT or St. Edwards, or are retired from teaching at UT, and doing this on the side, so it's not been a cakewalk for those not prepared and/or not doing the work (my classes are not entry level though).

ACC is actually very, very cheap - I wasn't willing to risk the cost (cheap as it is to me) and hassle of fucking around and finding out with going back to UT and jumping into multiple classes all at once and then finding out it's best left to the younger folks.  Scheduling just worked better for me at ACC as well.

I've been inundated with offers in my ACC email from College Station aggy, plus a couple of other aggy campuses, St. Edwards, Texas State, and UT (not all students may have gotten stuff from UT though, I've been talking to them and they have their guide/bridge stuff that I'm following).  I don't know if all students are getting these offers - I've been doing quite well, and I know I'm doing a lot better than many of my classmates, but I'm more disciplined and efficient in my 40s versus my early 20s.

I've also been getting near-weekly emails from Dell recruiters - they've got some kind of deal with ACC to place associate graduates in decent Dell jobs - $45,000 - $60,000+ depending on experience/skills.

Anyways, my meandering point is if you can increase the amount of people going to even community colleges, I think it could pay off down the road for everybody.  If somebody taking CC classes in high school (ACC has programs with AISD and a few other school districts like Elgin), or right after high school, and they started getting offers to four year colleges, or job recruiting for decent jobs from places like Dell, I think you could have a huge impact on a lot of people. 

But I am having a hard time getting a feel for my classmates, being online.  It seems like a lot of them are UT students (or would-be UT students) who are knocking out classes for cheap (and easier with the scheduling), with a scattering of older folks like myself going back and getting ready to make a run at another 4-year degree (or for their first 4-year degree), and then the rest who are young and knocking out a two-year degree.  But my classes are not something that somebody right out of high school would be taking, so there's some bias.

Edited by atomheartbevo
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2 minutes ago, StassneyHorn said:

I think it’d be great if parents, teachers and high schools didn’t push “you’re a loser if you don’t go to college right after HS” as well. Some need to work a service job for a better appreciation of what’s available and where they fit in before staring down a lifetime of BS 
 

2 years in CC when you’re ready for it and figuring out where to go afterwards as a possible next step is a hell of a lot better than going into debt for a UT degree plan at 18 and bailing on a loan after a year.

 

Exactly.  The world needs ditch diggers too.

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So CNN saying that Joe Manchin is "uncomfortable" with Biden's big proposals, and wants to work with Republicans on middle ground. Maybe on the inside he knows more than we do, but goddamn, it's clear as fucking day that republicans have no desire whatsoever to work with democrats on anything, period. Their sole objective is obstruction. They said it expressly during Obama's presidency. They are all but saying it now. What does Manchin think Republicans are willing to discuss? If he has some inroads to work with republicans, fine, get it done. Otherwise, understand what that party stands for now, which is literally nothing but shitting on anything Biden proposes. That is the only thing they fucking care about. Just stop Manchin, seriously.

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4 minutes ago, 'stache said:

So CNN saying that Joe Manchin is "uncomfortable" with Biden's big proposals, and wants to work with Republicans on middle ground. Maybe on the inside he knows more than we do, but goddamn, it's clear as fucking day that republicans have no desire whatsoever to work with democrats on anything, period. Their sole objective is obstruction. They said it expressly during Obama's presidency. They are all but saying it now. What does Manchin think Republicans are willing to discuss? If he has some inroads to work with republicans, fine, get it done. Otherwise, understand what that party stands for now, which is literally nothing but shitting on anything Biden proposes. That is the only thing they fucking care about. Just stop Manchin, seriously.

Joe Manchin plays footsie with the GOP but doesn’t stray too far from the Dem position often. He said $3T is fine with him for infrastructure.  He has to keep his “brand” bc of his state. 

The lefty internet was so sure he’d force the ARP to be less than what Biden wanted (like hundreds of billions less) and it ended up at $1.9T as originally proposed.  He gets some concessions on the margins and then votes yes. 

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9 minutes ago, 'stache said:

So CNN saying that Joe Manchin is "uncomfortable" with Biden's big proposals, and wants to work with Republicans on middle ground. Maybe on the inside he knows more than we do, but goddamn, it's clear as fucking day that republicans have no desire whatsoever to work with democrats on anything, period. Their sole objective is obstruction. They said it expressly during Obama's presidency. They are all but saying it now. What does Manchin think Republicans are willing to discuss? If he has some inroads to work with republicans, fine, get it done. Otherwise, understand what that party stands for now, which is literally nothing but shitting on anything Biden proposes. That is the only thing they fucking care about. Just stop Manchin, seriously.

Manchin's base would benefit from a lot of this stuff, I doubt he truly strays too far.  I'm sure he's angling for something.

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Just now, 'stache said:

I won't watch the "republican response" but what is the over-under on the use of the word "marxist" and references to AOC? I say 5 on the former, and 25 on the latter. Because their audience is a bunch of idiots. 

The preview is that all of this economic growth and reopening and vaccines started under Trump - Biden didn’t do anything except not fuck it 🙄

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11 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

I mean I don’t have a problem with it. Also, does free college for everyone include free room and board? How Many years can they Tommy Boy it? What are the restrictions? What are the penalties? If you leave a military academy after two years, you have to pay it back. There’s a lot to figure out. I think a 2 year juco and trade school option is a great way to start while we figure out the rest. It solves a lot of problems and offers opportunity for many while we figure out how make sure the kids who want 2 years of drinking and fucking before they have to get serious about school still have their cake and eat it too. 

Interest free (or 1%) student loans ought be on the table. For all current student loan debt. I have no problem with free state university educations, either. Nor means limits on such.

Education is a society upgrade. We all will benefit.

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2 minutes ago, Willfully Horn said:

Interest free (or 1%) student loans ought be on the table. For all current student loan debt. I have no problem with free state university educations, either. Nor means limits on such.

Education is a society upgrade. We all will benefit.

As long as there is a loan aspect, I agree. Definitely at a low interest rate. Free state college has other problems. But again if it’s all free, what stops someone from taking free room and board and never attending classes or taking it seriously? There are answers. But we need to flesh them out. 

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30 minutes ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

Exactly.  The world needs ditch diggers too.

If it read that way it wasn’t my intention. Was trying to make a nuanced “education is wasted on kids” circlejerk.  Let everyone take humanities classes when they’re slightly older.  50-60yo liberal arts professors largely waste their time speaking to teenagers and early 20 year olds. Hoping there’s one out there who is affected by what they say is probably the dream.

Edited by StassneyHorn
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2 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

As long as there is a loan aspect, I agree. Definitely at a low interest rate. Free state college has other problems. But again if it’s all free, what stops someone from taking free room and board and never attending classes or taking it seriously? There are answers. But we need to flesh them out. 

I agree, though maintaining a minimum gpa seems fairly workable.

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Is Joe legitimately heaping praise on congress for the progress on vaccination? WTF Joe.  Maybe you say something about the academics that laid the foundation with decades of research, the industry that translated, tested and deployed to the real world, and the wide range of boots on the ground putting shots in arms. 

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