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(06-13-2016, 12:06 PM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: Both political parties agree that comprehensive immigration policy reform is long overdue.
For eight years, Congresspersons have been unwilling to work together to develop the best means by which to address immigrants already established and living in this country illegally (though both parties agree that those with criminal records should be deported), and to address border security and immigration administration.
The Democratic politicians are more united in their stance that hard-working immigrants with no legal troubles should be given a reasonable path to citizenship, more fencing and border patrol should be implemented, and better immigration administration should be funded to keep track of immigrant status.
The Republican politicians are more divided, as was very clear during the GOP primary debates. Some like Bush and Kasich and Graham think that a reasonable path to legalization and/or citizenship, plus easier guest-worker criteria for employers, is the right way to go. Others said they want to follow Trump's lead and deport every immigrant who's in the United States illegally. Some of them want 'The Wall' around the country's borders. Trump wants to deport all undocumented immigrants and to strip American children of undocumented immigrants of their citizenship too (would require constitutional amendment, in all likelihood).
At least 40% of undocumented immigrants came to the U.S. legally and let their visas or permits expire, they didn't sneak in. And, the only health care an illegal/undocumented immigrant can access is emergency room services.
Personally, I think a lot of politicians on both sides know that many states and industries depend on undocumented immigrants and aren't in a particular hurry to deport them or help them legalize their status. That's just my suspicion though, not a verified fact. The right needs to bend a little and the left needs to address security. And I think it needs to start with work visas. A more robust background check needs to be done for citizenship. Do away with the TSA and dedicate those resources to HLS software and man power to perform thorough comprehensive background checks. It's doable, but the right and left are miles apart on it.
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(06-13-2016, 10:28 AM)Maggot Wrote: So you are advocating anarchism?
I am advocating empathy. I practice anarchy.
Thank god I am oblivious to the opinions of others while caught in the blinding splendor of my own cleverness.
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I've heard a lot of veterans speaking out against Trump for President. Today, I read an Open Letter to Trump penned by a wounded Marine.
Snip:
First, a word about me (Justin Constantine). I’m an entrepreneur who regularly works on a number of veteran employment initiatives. I’m a Marine veteran and Purple Heart recipient who served in Iraq. And I’m a resident of New York City, your hometown, and a voter of New York State which you said you think you can win in November. I’m even an avid golfer who has hit the links at some of your courses.
Many of the outrageous statements you’ve made over the last year not only provide us insight into your mindset and desired agenda, but demonstrate what little regard you have for veterans and the national security issues which affect all of us.
Let’s take a closer look:
1. You do not understand veterans or value our service.
Do we need to hear anything more than how you described Senator John McCain, who spent almost six years as a POW in Hanoi after being shot down behind enemy lines during the Vietnam War? You said, “He’s not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
2. You have no problem mocking a reporter who questions you.
Why should we think you would treat wounded warriors like myself any differently? Like many schoolyard bullies, we’ve all seen when challenged on virtually any topic, you quickly resort to personal attacks, shameless accusations and name-calling. We do not do that in the military. Although we may disagree with each other, we are taught very early on to respect each other.
3. We live and breathe integrity. You do not.
Each branch of our military holds integrity in extremely high regard and it is taught from the very first days of boot camp, officer candidate school or at the service academies. When you lie, it says something about your character. As General Peter Pace, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, once told me, “If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.” When we fail to tell the truth, the results can be disastrous, and we are punished severely for lying. You, however, have consistently displayed a shocking lack of integrity and have lied to us over and over again.
4. You embrace world leaders who veterans view as threats to our national security.
It does not take a Ph.D. in political science or crisis intervention to understand that Russia’s Vladimir Putin, North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi were and are all very dangerous dictators with goals and agendas completely contrary to ours. In fact, both Putin and Kim are considered two of the most dangerous men in the world.
That being said, instead of denouncing all of them, you actually have done quite the opposite. You have repeatedly embraced Putin as a world leader whom you would “get along very well with.” And after Putin praised you as “bright and talented,” you declared that a great honor.
5. We celebrate racial diversity and recognize the value of a multi-cultural workplace. You are racist and cannot see past the color of people’s skin.
Studies have shown that the armed forces’ social hierarchy –- explicitly based on rank -– overrides many of the racial or gender biases in civilian society, and that promotion outcomes do not differ nearly as much by race/ethnicity as they do in civilian society.
We value this and are proud of it. And nine percent of all living military veterans are U.S.-born children with at least one immigrant parent. Yet, recently and quite publicly, you remarked that U.S. citizen and Indiana-born Judge Gonzalo Curiel’s Mexican heritage presents a conflict of interest in his ability to preside over lawsuits related to your Trump University business because you are “building a wall.” House Speaker Paul Ryan quickly called your observation “the textbook definition of a racist comment.”
What do you think about General and Secretary of State Colin Powell, whose parents immigrated from Jamaica, or former Army intelligence officer, Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Leon Panetta, whose family immigrated from Italy? And we all remember you launching your presidential campaign by calling Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists.
This letter is not a blanket statement of my support for Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders or any other presidential hopeful. It is simply a letter to you, Mr. Trump, letting you know you have lost my vote and you are never getting it back.
Full letter: http://new.www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...c496007949
About the author: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story/mi.../85834748/
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Donald Trump can kiss my ass. Fear mongering bastard.
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(06-13-2016, 06:13 PM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: I've heard a lot of veterans speaking out against Trump for President. Today, I read an Open Letter to Trump penned by a wounded Marine.
That was brilliant!
I agreed with every sentence.
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(06-13-2016, 06:26 PM)Duchess Wrote: (06-13-2016, 06:13 PM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: I've heard a lot of veterans speaking out against Trump for President. Today, I read an Open Letter to Trump penned by a wounded Marine.
That was brilliant!
I agreed with every sentence. I believe he is a minority among those who have served or are serving. Every single veteran and/or soldier I've spoken to will vote for Trump over Hilary because of Benghazi.
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It's probably good that Trump thanked Comrade Putin for endorsing him. The Russians just hacked the DNC and took all the fluff they had on him and their strategy.
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
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(06-13-2016, 06:13 PM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: I've heard a lot of veterans speaking out against Trump for President. Today, I read an Open Letter to Trump penned by a wounded Marine.
I'm sure that number pales in comparison to those (active, retired and veterans) against our current Commander in Chief.
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Benghazi is a fairy tale only the very stupid believe happened the way the Hardliners would sell it.
Thank god I am oblivious to the opinions of others while caught in the blinding splendor of my own cleverness.
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Yeah . . . it was the video.
And an impromptu gathering by members of a religion of peace.
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(06-14-2016, 05:09 PM)Donovan Wrote: Benghazi is a fairy tale only the very stupid believe happened the way the Hardliners would sell it. Four Americans died in the 2012 Benghazi attack: Ambassador Stevens, Information Officer Sean Smith, and two CIA operatives, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, both former Navy SEALs.
These four people know. So does Hilary, and anyone who's cared to pay attention to what her emails said. The only "fairy tale" in the story I've seen is the two alternate endings that Hilary has and neither have anyone living happily ever after. So I'm calling And so are the majority of service men and women.
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I'm reading a book about that now.
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
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Whichever candidate is elected, I hope that he or she carries through on promises made to our veterans during the campaign. Too often, veterans are courted heavily ahead of the election and then become a low priority once the new administration settles in.
I do not know which candidate has more support with veterans; I haven't seen any credible polls or surveys of veterans specifically. I think that might be difficult to accomplish; we have older male vets, older female vets, younger male vets, younger female vets...all of all races, ethnicities, religions, and holding varying personal and political beliefs.
I have seen veterans interviewed, most of whom were leaders of veterans' organizations, pulling for Clinton. They agree with Clinton's more hawkish/interventionist belief that it's important for global security that U.S. forces be present in bases across the world. They don't agree with Trump about the U.S. backing out of protection alliances unless the protected countries (like Japan) pay significantly more to the U.S.
They agree with Clinton that it's ludicrous and dangerous for Trump to propose U.S. non-resistance to additional countries getting nukes. They also agree with Clinton and disagree with Trump when it comes to Muslims, considering it dangerous and short-sighted that Trump is advocating for punishment of all Muslims for the actions of Islamic extremists and think that Trump's Muslim rhetoric is dangerous to troops and personnel located in the Middle East.
There are also more than a few high profile veterans who have made it clear that they will never forget that Donald Trump called John McCain an unlikable loser because he was captured by the enemy while fighting for our country (especially considering that Trump got several service deferments and implied that he knows more about current military issues than U.S. Generals).
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I've seen other veterans' leaders strongly supporting Bernie Sanders because they trust that he wouldn't forget his commitments to them if elected, they like that he's a non-interventionist unless the U.S. is under direct threat, and they appreciate his years of focused work to get pro-veteran legislation drafted and pushed.
And, I've seen some veterans loudly supporting Donald Trump because they believe he's strong and commanding, which they think is the opposite of Obama and his administration. Some of them share Trump's disapproval of the Iran nuclear deal and don't trust Clinton to tell the truth (because they believe she lied after the Benghazi killings, lied about her email server, etc). Two whom I saw interviewed also agreed with Trump that America has lost some of its greatness and become weak globally. They believe Donald Trump will make America great again on the global stage and domestically (in part by deporting all illegal immigrants and banning Muslims from entering the country).
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(06-14-2016, 05:09 PM)Donovan Wrote: Benghazi is a fairy tale only the very stupid believe happened the way the Hardliners would sell it.
There you go, being a fucking Asshole again.
Why don't you tell us exactly what happened in Benghazi.
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(06-14-2016, 04:29 PM)BlueTiki Wrote: I'm sure that number pales in comparison to those (active, retired and veterans) against our current Commander in Chief.
Donald Trump insults our military on an almost daily basis when he questions what Obama is doing in regards to ISIS and then proceeds to shout NOTHING. That is a slap in the face to every soldier still over there and to every pilot flying a mission. Is that to say they are risking their life for nothing? Goddamn he is a revolting individual.
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You have to admit that Obama has no clue about the military, he barely takes the advice of military strategists. I would not want to be a soldier under his administration.
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
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(06-15-2016, 12:55 PM)Duchess Wrote: (06-14-2016, 04:29 PM)BlueTiki Wrote: I'm sure that number pales in comparison to those (active, retired and veterans) against our current Commander in Chief.
Donald Trump insults our military on an almost daily basis when he questions what Obama is doing in regards to ISIS and then proceeds to shout NOTHING. That is a slap in the face to every soldier still over there and to every pilot flying a mission. Is that to say they are risking their life for nothing? Goddamn he is a revolting individual.
Seriously? That's probably the dumbest thing you've said about him to date. What the fuck IS Obama doing about ISIS?
I'll wait..........
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(06-15-2016, 03:18 PM)FAHQTOO Wrote: Seriously? That's probably the dumbest thing you've said about him to date. What the fuck IS Obama doing about ISIS?
I'll wait..........
Dumb for being offended when he insults the people risking their lives by saying nothing is being done? Dumb for finding his cavalier attitude about it akin to a slap in the face to those risking it all and for the people who care about them? Maybe you could elaborate a little and explain what is dumb about that. I'll wait......
America has led a coalition of over 60 countries, all of who have played a role in disrupting ISIS in regards to their financing and their plots. There have been thousands of bombing missions taking out their fighters and their training camps. Would you prefer American forces go in on the ground? Would that be more satisfying to you rather than what is being done now?
You support Trump.
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(06-15-2016, 03:18 PM)FAHQTOO Wrote: (06-15-2016, 12:55 PM)Duchess Wrote: (06-14-2016, 04:29 PM)BlueTiki Wrote: I'm sure that number pales in comparison to those (active, retired and veterans) against our current Commander in Chief.
Donald Trump insults our military on an almost daily basis when he questions what Obama is doing in regards to ISIS and then proceeds to shout NOTHING. That is a slap in the face to every soldier still over there and to every pilot flying a mission. Is that to say they are risking their life for nothing? Goddamn he is a revolting individual.
Seriously? That's probably the dumbest thing you've said about him to date. What the fuck IS Obama doing about ISIS?
I'll wait..........
Actually, I think what you just wrote, FQ2, is the dumbest thing I have read......You are aware aren't you, that US soldiers are dying every day while serving in the mid-east.....why are they dying? why are they over there still putting their lives on the line.....just because Mr. Obama isn't a blowhard like Trump doesn't mean he isn't doing something.....Commanders of the military services do not advertise their actions, strategies, etc.....you know the enemy might be listening......
You do know that the military is still deploying to the mid-east......right? I am just guessing it might be to help out in the battle against ISIS. We aren't the only ones who have a dog in the race, so we should standing firm with other countries against these terrorists, which is happening as we speak.......
Do you not understand that because Trump is stirring the pot of hate and bigotry, some psychos think it is O.K. to kill those people they don't like?....he is just adding to the division of the U.S. and perpetuating the hate against others...He is an instigator, a vile piece of shit, and should never run anything, let alone a country.....I think there are a lot of military families who would be deeply offended right now when you ask what Obama is doing about ISIS...
Could you elaborate on what more you want Mr. Obama to do re ISIS? Do you really think you would live in a safer World with Donald Trump at the helm......I am trying to understand why you think he is such a hero, when, in fact, he is the worst thing that could happen to our country. He (and his cult) is what is wrong with our country. It is now socially acceptable to hate on others because of "fuckface."
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