Political Discussion

[Chucktshoes]

I am really hating this trend of prisons being a source of cheap labor. First, fire fighting in CA for pennies an hour and now agriculture, meat, and dairy products being produced by prisoners that get paid around $4.50/day. This is equivalent to slave labor, and with ridiculous laws (like all drug laws because they are stupid) that make it easy to incarcerate black and brown people, this is modern slavery. There is no other word for it.

The Counter identified over $40 million in transactions between private food companies, prisons, and prison industries since 2017, including sales to major food industry players like Cargill and the Dairy Farmers of America. Across the country, at least 650 correctional institutions have some sort of food processing, landscaping, or farming operation, according to research by sociologist Joshua Sbicca and feminist geographer-political ecologist Carrie Chennault at Colorado State University.

In some states, food produced in prisons makes its way into restaurants and grocery stores through companies like Leprino, though in most places, food produced on prison grounds feeds the prison system and the public sector. Elsewhere, private food companies contract with state correctional industries to hire incarcerated workers, often for meager pay. In some ways, the small world of prison food production is a microcosm of the American food system, which has roots in slave labor and all too often functions as a race to the bottom: Fueled in part by cheap labor and low overhead, the drive toward production and profit leaves behind the people who plant the seeds and butcher the beef.

How corporations buy—and sell—food made with prison labor

It's generally illegal to sell prison-made goods across state lines. But since the 1930s, the law has included an exemption for agriculture.

thecounter.org

While I have views with regards to prisons being self sufficient in producing their own food and other products for the support of the prison population, I’ve long been opposed to using them to produce goods for sale on the open market. There are opportunities for learning skills that can be useful on the outside, but the opportunities for corruption and abuse are far, far greater.

 

[RenegadeMonster]

I don't know if it's true for all states, but I know all license plates manufactured in RI are made by prisoners. They get paid pennies as well.

 

[Twentytwo]

 

[RenegadeMonster]

This whole January 6 probe thing is really causing a divide in the republican party. Sadly, as Tim Ryan said above the other 90% of the republican party is not living in reality. While it's great to see Republicans angered by the dismissal of the probe, I really hope it doesn't result in political suicide for them resulting in more people like Marjorie Greene being elected and further partisanship.

Mitch McConnell has joined Kevin McCarthy in saying he will not support the probe calling it slanted and unbalanced. He too is pushing the senate to republicans to not support the bill. Just like McCarthy did in the house. But 35 Republicans did vote to support in the house, far more than what was expected and it did pass. So there is a chance it will pass in the senate as well.

The probe is Bipartisan and democrats made all concessions that republicans asked for and worked with them. Based on the events happening, it's likely Kevin McCarthy never thought the democrats would come to agreement with republicans to put forward a bipartisan probe. And when they did, republicans are reacting out of fear and self preservation.

 

[nolalady]

This whole January 6 probe thing is really causing a divide in the republican party. Sadly, as Tim Ryan said above the other 90% of the republican party is not living in reality. While it's great to see Republicans angered by the dismissal of the probe, I really hope it doesn't result in political suicide for them resulting in more people like Marjorie Greene being elected and further partisanship.

Mitch McConnell has joined Kevin McCarthy in saying he will not support the probe calling it slanted and unbalanced. He too is pushing the senate to republicans to not support the bill. Just like McCarthy did in the house. But 35 Republicans did vote to support in the house, far more than what was expected and it did pass. So there is a chance it will pass in the senate as well.

The probe is Bipartisan and democrats made all concessions that republicans asked for and worked with them. Based on the events happening, it's likely Kevin McCarthy never thought the democrats would come to agreement with republicans to put forward a bipartisan probe. And when they did, republicans are reacting out of fear and self preservation.

Republicans are seeing how much of a following Trump has now that he is out of office and they are thinking he's the only way they get back into power. Democrats don't want Trump to be able to run again, which is the main reason they are pushing this probe.

Honestly, if the Democrats hadn't thrown the working class under the bus a while ago, they wouldn't be in this mess. If they back smart progressive policies that make it better for the average person, the would have the votes to win in 2024. I guess I'm not living in reality either because I think this probe is probably a waste of time and definitely a waste of tax dollars.

And Ryan was wrong when he said that we needed two parties in this country, we need at least a third party, if not more. We would be a lot more democratic as a nation that way.

 

[Dtknuckles]

Republicans are seeing how much of a following Trump has now that he is out of office and they are thinking he's the only way they get back into power. Democrats don't want Trump to be able to run again, which is the main reason they are pushing this probe.

Honestly, if the Democrats hadn't thrown the working class under the bus a while ago, they wouldn't be in this mess. If they back smart progressive policies that make it better for the average person, the would have the votes to win in 2024. I guess I'm not living in reality either because I think this probe is probably a waste of time and definitely a waste of tax dollars.

And Ryan was wrong when he said that we needed two parties in this country, we need at least a third party, if not more. We would be a lot more democratic as a nation that way.

Is there evidence to say that we already have a third party without the typical party infrastructure. There is a segment of voters that shift their votes from D to R and back and that both parties are fighting over those people.

Honestly I think republicans have given up on them and going with a base strategy and voter suppression of the other side.

 

[nolalady]

Is there evidence to say that we already have a third party without the typical party infrastructure. There is a segment of voters that shift their votes from D to R and back and that both parties are fighting over those people.

Honestly I think republicans have given up on them and going with a base strategy and voter suppression of the other side.

I would say that they are swing voters that vote for one of the two major parties. I wonder what those swing votes would look like if we had a democratic socialist party and a libertarian party that were both viable options. I also wonder how much republican and democrat fighting there would be if about 10-20% of the representatives elected were from one of these two parties (or a mix of the both). These bipartisan arguments would be a whole lot less polarizing.

 

[Dtknuckles]

I would say that they are swing voters that vote for one of the two major parties. I wonder what those swing votes would look like if we had a democratic socialist party and a libertarian party that were both viable options. I also wonder how much republican and democrat fighting there would be if about 10-20% of the representatives elected were from one of these two parties (or a mix of the both). These bipartisan arguments would be a whole lot less polarizing.

I think a big problems is also the power sharing. The winner takes all aspect does not lead to compromise.

 

[RenegadeMonster]

Republicans are seeing how much of a following Trump has now that he is out of office and they are thinking he's the only way they get back into power. Democrats don't want Trump to be able to run again, which is the main reason they are pushing this probe.

Honestly, if the Democrats hadn't thrown the working class under the bus a while ago, they wouldn't be in this mess. If they back smart progressive policies that make it better for the average person, the would have the votes to win in 2024. I guess I'm not living in reality either because I think this probe is probably a waste of time and definitely a waste of tax dollars.

And Ryan was wrong when he said that we needed two parties in this country, we need at least a third party, if not more. We would be a lot more democratic as a nation that way.

For me, I feel that abandonment by the democrats of the working class all comes from fear of them challenging the status quo to earn the swing voters and wanting to play nice with republicans.

Republicans have an unfair advantage of winning seats in the house and senate due to Gerrymandering. And they for years have held enough power to effectively block any and all progressive bills that require a supermajority to pass. It's like the democrats don't even try anymore all while the republicans go further off the rails to the right and say the democrats are evil socialists hell bent on destroying our country.

 

[RenegadeMonster]

Texas's governor signed into law yesterday a "fetal heartbeat ban", which doesn't allow abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected in most cases only allowing abortions in the event of a medical emergency.

Fetal heartbeats can be detected as early as 6 weeks.

Texas has already created abortion clinic deserts by requiring clinics to have doctors with admitting rights to perform abortions as well as requires multiple visits and a waiting period before an abortion can be performed.

So, with this bill being signed into law, it essentially means the only way an abortion can be legally done now is knowing you are pregnant within the first 2 weeks of conception and starting the abortion process during that time period. Otherwise it's all too easy for the process to push people beyond the date that they can legally get an abortion.

 

[nolalady]

I think a big problems is also the power sharing. The winner takes all aspect does not lead to compromise.

Yep, and that is what sucks the most about our system.

For me, I feel that abandonment by the democrats of the working class all comes from fear of them challenging the status quo to earn the swing voters and wanting to play nice with republicans.

Republicans have an unfair advantage of winning seats in the house and senate due to Gerrymandering. And they for years have held enough power to effectively block any and all progressive bills that require a supermajority to pass. It's like the democrats don't even try anymore all while the republicans go further off the rails to the right and say the democrats are evil socialists hell bent on destroying our country.

Democrats began abandoning the working class when they started listening to the Chicago school of economics and embraced neoliberalism(around the 1970's)--a political approach that favors free-market capitalism, deregulation, and reduction in government spending. They started selling off government functions to contractors, and decided to take a hands off approach when it came to anti-trust violations and union busting. They favored letting the market decide wages instead of continuing to raise the federal minimum wage. And while wages should rise given demand, a couple things happened to made that not happen. The first was globalization--or in other words, get it made for pennies in third world countries so you can sell it cheaply--and the second was that as the government stopped enforcing anti-trust laws which made it easy for companies to gain monopolies--or at minimum oligopoly. Globalization killed most of the US's factories. With nothing but service jobs left available, the oligopoly could fix wages easily since there is a small enough number of them that even when they don't collude on wages, they still sort of do collude on wages.

The main difference I can see between the Republican and Democrat party is that Republicans use the Christian church as it's moral compass and believes that it's the church's job to provide charity to the poor and care to the sick. Democrats believe that the government has a moral obligation to provide charity to the poor and care to the sick. But both parties firmly believe in free marked capitalism, deregulation and reduction in government spending. The only thing we are voting on is whether or not the government should dole out charity.

If you ask anyone, all they want is a job where they can make a living and then go home and do whatever it is they like--playing video games, spinning records, painting, etc. The problem is that most jobs out there do not provide a living to people, but they sure are cheap labor and that maximizes profits. The problem with both parties is that all they care about is the "maximizing profits" and don't give a damn about the people that they put into debt and danger every day because they can't afford healthcare, food, or shelter.

 

[nolalady]

Texas's governor signed into law yesterday a "fetal heartbeat ban", which doesn't allow abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected in most cases only allowing abortions after in medical emergencies.

Fetal heartbeats can be detected as early as 6 weeks.

Texas has already created abortion clinic deserts by requiring clinics to have doctors with admitting rights to perform abortions as well as requires multiple visits and a waiting period before an abortion can be performed.

So, with this bill being signed into law, it essentially means the only way an abortion can be legally done now is knowing you are pregnant within the first 2 weeks of conception and starting the abortion process during that time period. Otherwise it's all too easy for the process to push people beyond the date that they can legally get an abortion.

And just an FYI, most women don't really find out they are pregnant until around week 7-8 unless they are monitoring things carefully.

So is Texas going to decrease taxes for people with kids? Are they going to provide free PreK? Are they going to expand their CHIP program, their SNAP program, and cash aid to young people with kids? Is Texas going to make it easier to adopt? How do they plan to deal with their decision not to allow young women any other option but having the child?

 

[RenegadeMonster]

And just an FYI, most women don't really find out they are pregnant until around week 7-8 unless they are monitoring things carefully.

So is Texas going to decrease taxes for people with kids? Are they going to provide free PreK? Are they going to expand their CHIP program, their SNAP program, and cash aid to young people with kids? Is Texas going to make it easier to adopt? How do they plan to deal with their decision not to allow young women any other option but having the child?

I expect not. But they cheered and applauded when Gov Abbott signed the bill. Abbott talked about the importance of protecting precious Taxan lives from the moment of first heartbeat.

 

[ranbalam]

I expect not. But they cheered and applauded when Gov Abbott signed the bill. Abbott talked about the importance of protecting precious Taxan lives from the moment of first heartbeat.

Until birth.

 

[Dtknuckles]

And just an FYI, most women don't really find out they are pregnant until around week 7-8 unless they are monitoring things carefully.

So is Texas going to decrease taxes for people with kids? Are they going to provide free PreK? Are they going to expand their CHIP program, their SNAP program, and cash aid to young people with kids? Is Texas going to make it easier to adopt? How do they plan to deal with their decision not to allow young women any other option but having the child?

But they will get plenty of abstinence only education.

 

[nolalady]

But they will get plenty of abstinence only education.

 

[mdmost]

And just an FYI, most women don't really find out they are pregnant until around week 7-8 unless they are monitoring things carefully.

So is Texas going to decrease taxes for people with kids? Are they going to provide free PreK? Are they going to expand their CHIP program, their SNAP program, and cash aid to young people with kids? Is Texas going to make it easier to adopt? How do they plan to deal with their decision not to allow young women any other option but having the child?

This state has a terrible foster care system. The GOP only cares about the unborn and once the kid is in the world, they simply need to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.

 

[RenegadeMonster]

22 GOP controlled states have now ended expanded unemployment benefits early. This is estimated to cut the benefits from 3.6 million Americans.

From the Labor Department:

"There is nothing we can do," the official said, adding that the department has tried to figure out a solution. "Taking away their lifeline isn't going to help anything."

 

[RenegadeMonster]

63 House Republicans voted against the anti-Asian hate crimes bill in yesterday.

There reason for voting against it? They say it violates first amendment rights.

 

[Bull Shannon]

63 House Republicans voted against the anti-Asian hate crimes bill in yesterday.

There reason for voting against it? They say it violates first amendment rights.

Funny how these people suddenly are the victim when someone asks them to respect the basic dignity and civil liberties of others. What a bunch of babies.