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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

With WW2, "Concentration Camp" is how we described the centers where Japanese-Americans (and a few other groups) were forced into indefinitely while their land was often sold without compensating them.

Even if this is true [citation needed], ever since the atrocities in Nazi concentration camps became known the term has taken on a different, much more sinister meaning. AOC knows the present day meaning of the term, is using the term deliberately to invoke Nazi Germany, and her refuge in technicalities is not fooling anyone.
 
She's correct even within the Nazi context. The Nazi camps weren't death camps on day one, it took years, nor were they all death camps.

Not even at the beginning were the concentration camps anything like these detention centers.
Hell, these detention centers are not even like the internment camps for Japanese. Big difference between detaining your citizens just because of their ethnicity and detaining mass migrants (and citizens of other countries like El Salvador or Honduras) who are inundating your border until you can adjudicate their claims (which is going slow because of sheer numbers).

Really? I don't see any difference aside from the absolute shameful inhumanity in separating young children from parents and then caging them and denying them warm beds, clean water, the ability to bathe or be bathed, education, health care, loving human contact.


I was ashamed of GW Bush. I'm much more deeply ashamed of Trump. But this is an absolute travesty of justice that cannot be allowed to stand. Shame doesn't even touch how I feel about this practice and those who allow it to continue.
 
With WW2, "Concentration Camp" is how we described the centers where Japanese-Americans (and a few other groups) were forced into indefinitely while their land was often sold without compensating them.

Even if this is true [citation needed], ever since the atrocities in Nazi concentration camps became known the term has taken on a different, much more sinister meaning. AOC knows the present day meaning of the term, is using the term deliberately to invoke Nazi Germany, and her refuge in technicalities is not fooling anyone.

Try reading a little history, Derec. Mumbles is correct about Japanese interment camps. The Jews are right about every atrocity claimed about the Holocaust and AOC is right about the caging of babies.
 
Yes, Ananias and Sapphira were pesky kulaks who refused to collectivize all their property as Comrade Peter demanded. :D

Not just socialism, but Stalinism.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "One narrative in this country that we need to turn on its head is the lie that immigrants are “takers,” or represent a weight on society. It’s wrong. Immigrants are *makers.* They create+offer opportunity. They aren’t a weight to carry; in fact, they are our nation’s shoulders." / Twitter
I wouldn't jump to that conclusion. Immigrants can be both makers and takers, just like native-born citizens.
 
Try reading a little history, Derec.
I read a lot of history.

Mumbles is correct about Japanese interment camps.
Even if he is right, it is irrelevant. Even if Japanese internment camps were referred to as "concentration camps" contemporaneously, since the Nazi atrocities became known, that term was forever linked with Nazi camps.
AOC is deliberately using that term because of its Nazi connections. She knows full well what she is doing, no matter the technicalities.

AOC is right about the caging of babies.
I agree that conditions should be improved. But AOC herself has opposed the compromise bill authorizing money for that purpose. So it's a bit disingenuous of her to complain.

I do not agree that mass migrants should not be detained.
Best would be for SCOTUS to invalidate the Flores decision so these families do not have to be separated.
We also need to modernize asylum laws to make it more difficult to misuse the asylum process for economic illegal migration.
 

Also hardly anybody wants to end all immigration. But AOC and those like her want de-facto open borders.
Another thing: these mass migrants from Honduras etc. are by and large uneducated, and do not speak English. A modern economy simply does not have that many jobs for people with a 6th grade education who do not speak the language. Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador is basically exporting their underclass to the US. That's not a good deal for us.
 
Really? I don't see any difference aside from the absolute shameful inhumanity in separating young children from parents and then caging them and denying them warm beds, clean water, the ability to bathe or be bathed, education, health care, loving human contact.
I think conditions should be improved, but I realize that this is easier said and done when 100,000 mass migrants show up per month.
The smugglers are telling these migrants to bring children with them as that made it easier to get into US in light of Flores.
The Flores decision (and the subsequent expansion in 2015 by an Obama judge) needs to be overturned so families can be kept together. We need better laws to deter people who are not legitimate asylum seekers from coming here.

It's fashionable to blame Trump for this. But why not blame the smugglers who bring all these people here? Who tell migrants that having children with them will improve their chances? Why not blame outdated laws or court decisions that make things worse?

This is a complex problem and simply opening the borders to all comers is not a sustainable solution.
 

And just how well is the 99 year old, possibly senile, former prosecutor informed about the matter?
Is he, for example, aware of the Flores decision that made the family separations necessary?
Is he aware of the fact that over 100,000 mass migrants per month are showing up at the border?
Is he aware of misusing asylum claims for economic migration?

The Flores agreement in no way made seperation a requirement. It only covered the standards of care of those children in detention.

Terms of the agreement
The Flores Agreement set national policy for the detention, release and treatment of minors in the custody of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.[16] According to the legal nonprofit Human Rights First, the Agreement "imposed several obligations on the immigration authorities, which fall into three broad categories":

The government is required to release children from immigration detention without unnecessary delay to, in order of preference, parents, other adult relatives, or licensed programs willing to accept custody.
If a suitable placement is not immediately available, the government is obligated to place children in the "least restrictive" setting appropriate to their age and any special needs.
The government must implement standards relating to the care and treatment of children in immigration detention.[17]
The Flores Agreement "set standards for the detention of minors by prioritizing them for release to the custody of their families and requiring those in federal custody to be placed in the least restrictive environment possible," according to NBC News in 2018.[18] Immigration officials agreed to provide detained minors with:

food and drinking water as appropriate,
medical assistance if minor is in need of emergency services,
toilets and sinks,
adequate temperature control and ventilation,
adequate supervision to protect minors from others,
contact with family members who were arrested with the minor and
separation from unrelated adults whenever possible.[19][14]
Immigration officials agreed to release minors "without unnecessary delay" when detention isn't required to protect the safety and well-being of the minor or to secure the timely appearance of the minor at a proceeding before immigration authorities, that is, when officials release the minor to a parent or guardian who agree to appear, and the minor is not a flight risk.[16] The Agreement prioritized the preferred situations into which minors are to be released:

to a parent;
a legal guardian;
an adult relative; or
an adult individual or entity designated by the parent or legal guardian.
Failing these, the minor may be released to an adult or other entity seeking custody or sent to a state-licensed detention program.[16][20][21]

Immigration officials agreed to provide minors with contact with family members with whom they were arrested, and to "promptly" reunite minors with their families. Efforts to reunify families are to continue as long as the minor is in custody.[16][15] Thus the Agreement stipulates that the government separate children from their parents.[22]

The Flores settlement does, however, require that "Following arrest, the INS shall hold minors in facilities that are safe and sanitary and that are consistent with the INS's concern for the particular vulnerability of minors" and "...such minor shall be placed temporarily in a licensed program ... at least until such time as release can be effected ... Or until the minor's immigration proceedings are concluded, whichever occurs earlier". This leaves immigration officials in a difficult position, as there are few facilities designed to hold families.[citation needed]
 Reno v. Flores

And, frankly, the administration isn't following those standards of care anyway. So while they are wrongfully citing the decision as the reason they are seperating, they are not following the agreement as written.

The solution to the crisis of family separation at the US-Mexico border, the Trump administration has decided, is to get rid of a 1997 federal court decision that strictly limits the government’s ability to keep children in immigration detention.

The administration has fingered Flores v. Reno, or the “Flores settlement,” as the reason it is “forced” to separate parents from their children to prosecute them. It claims that because it cannot keep parents and children in immigration detention together, it has no choice but to detain parents in immigration detention (after they’ve been criminally prosecuted for illegal entry) and send the children to the Department of Health and Human Services as “unaccompanied alien children.”

The Flores settlement requires the federal government to do two things: to place children with a close relative or family friend “without unnecessary delay,” rather than keeping them in custody; and to keep immigrant children who are in custody in the “least restrictive conditions” possible.
https://www.vox.com/2018/6/20/17484546/executive-order-family-separation-flores-settlement-agreement-immigration

It was the administration's choice to prosecute and detain asylum seekers as criminals for a misdemeanor level violation. That's what forced children into detention.
 

And just how well is the 99 year old, possibly senile, former prosecutor informed about the matter?
Is he, for example, aware of the Flores decision that made the family separations necessary?
Is he aware of the fact that over 100,000 mass migrants per month are showing up at the border?
Is he aware of misusing asylum claims for economic migration?

Did you even watch or read more than the headline? He correctly said it didn't matter what the law says about it.
 
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Gotta love the rich irony of people who fondly recount stories of how their family’s last names were changed on Ellis Island after their relatives snuck onto a boat escaping some horror now taking fervent anti-immigrant stances & branding innocent human beings as “illegal.”" / Twitter

(1) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Pretty awful that the right would make a joke of visiting a child CBP camp - but fitting, given that they don’t seem to care one shred about other people’s lives. PS That watch belonged to my dad. It was the last & only possession he left me. I wear it to mark important moments. https://t.co/b6oXiWUaPj" / Twitter noting (1) snopes.com on Twitter: "Q: Does an image show @AOC fake-crying at a migrant camp? A: ❌ False Our story: [url]https://t.co/xo8DIcZzGX https://t.co/zOXvAmE6cS" / Twitter[/url]

(1) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Reminder that these camps are run **at a profit** and financed by private equity groups, many of whom lobby politicians to imprison more people. Wall Street has made human rights abuse an incentivized, for-profit venture. https://t.co/9zABsm7WQ5" / Twitter noting (1) Polly Mosendz on Twitter: "🚨 NEWS🚨 We got the government documents showing what detained children are being fed. Cold burritos, frozen sandwiches, and applesauce as a rare treat. “Mothers would say, ‘my child can’t drink the water or eat the food, it makes them sick.’’ [url]https://t.co/1669JTw9bB https://t.co/xQ56D8KBK1" / Twitter[/url] noting Immigrant Detainees Fed 'Appalling' Unhealthy Menu in Centers - Bloomberg
The choice of foods is "appalling," said Rafael Perez-Escamilla, a professor of epidemiology and public health at the Yale School of Public Health who has served on advisory panels related to the U.S. Federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Not only does the menu not meet those guidelines, but it also represents exactly the sort of diet that "has been associated with obesity, poor dental health and chronic diseases such as diabetes," he said.
 
When Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez met Greta Thunberg: 'Hope is contagious' | Environment | The Guardian - a Swedish high-school student and climate-change activist.

AOC: "But what people don’t recognise is how strong the fossil fuel lobby is. The Koch brothers in the US have essentially purchased the entire Republican party, but people forget they made their money off oil and gas. That is where their fortune comes from. And I think that’s what we’re up against. So the severity of the pushback indicates the power that we are challenging. You can look at that with despair, or you can look at it with hope. That’s how strong we are: we’re so strong that we’re able to take this on credibly and actually build a movement against it."

GT noted that Sweden is far from perfect and that a common argument there is that there is no point in Sweden doing much because it has only 10 million people. AOC noted that some fellow Americans have a similar argument about China. "And I think it’s the same argument: are we going to choose to lead, or are we going to sit on our hands? It seems as if they take pride in leading on fracking, on being the number one in oil, in consumption, in single-use plastics. But they don’t seem to want to take pride in leading on the environment and leading for our children."

GT "Before I started school striking, I was like that. I was so depressed and I didn’t want to do anything, basically." AOC "I had a similar tipping point, although it had more to do with income inequality. ... I was really wallowing in despair for a while: what do I do? Is this my life? Just showing up, working, knowing that things are so difficult, then going home and doing it again. And I think what was profoundly liberating was engaging in my first action – when I went to Standing Rock, in the Dakotas, to fight against a fracking pipeline. It seemed impossible at the time. It was just normal people, showing up, just standing on the land to prevent this pipeline from going through. And it made me feel extremely powerful, even though we had nothing, materially – just the act of standing up to some of the most powerful corporations in the world."

GT "Yeah. I know so many people who feel hopeless, and they ask me, “What should I do?” And I say: “Act. Do something.” Because that is the best medicine against sadness and depression." AOC "It’s true that people don’t know when those small actions can manifest into something. I’ve seen it even in office. There’s so much cynicism about, how powerful can this be? Just me showing up?"

Then GT on climate denialism "bad here in Sweden" and AOC on oil-company lobbying -- lobbying by companies that knew that there was trouble ahead. But things are changing. The two also talked about being put down for their age, something that happened to AOC when she ran for office.

Then about GT traveling to the US. She doesn't fly for climate reasons, so I'm guessing that she'll be traveling by ship. She might do so by freighter, but big ships are oil guzzlers. So will she be trying to travel by sailing ship? She and fellow climate-change activists might try to charter a sailing cruise ship for the journey. But however she arrives, AOC plans to welcome her.
 
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "“⁦I know so many people who feel hopeless, and they ask me, “What should I do?” And I say: “Act.” It was such an honor to share this conversation with you, ⁦@GretaThunberg⁩. Thank you for being one of the leading voices on climate action today. https://t.co/ke1pzaO8pf" / Twitter
Greta Thunberg on Twitter: "Hope is contagious! I met with the inspiring Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, @AOC . Here is our discussion! #FridaysForFuture #SchoolStrike4Climate #ClimateStrike #GreenNewDeal #ClimateBreakdown https://t.co/gosJqAuXHW" / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "The reason your abuela was “legal” was likely bc there was effectively no “illegal” US immigration when she came, except for the Chinese. The US’ first imm law was the Chinese Exclusion Act, & explicit racism was allowed as legal grounds for US immigration laws until *1952.* https://t.co/rP316bIrd5" / Twitter noting Jim Hanson on Twitter: "You mean people like my grandmother Who came here legally She didn't sneak on a boat Her parents bought tickets & obeyed the law Your damn right I will call people who cheat & come here illegally Illegal https://t.co/dxUV0pUK9B" / Twitter
The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882.  History of laws concerning immigration and naturalization in the United States
"Abuela" is Spanish for grandmother.

The first general quotas were passed in the 1920's, to keep out the hordes of Southern and Eastern European immigrants that had been arriving.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "The history of Citizenship in the US is deeply woven with the history of racism. It has been used as the legal enforcer of racism for most of US history. Citizenship affords power, & that’s why citizenship of African Americans was long denied too - to both slaves & descendants." / Twitter
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Dred Scott was the landmark Supreme Court case that found the US Constitution didn’t give citizenship to black people. The 1st US immigration law was the Chinese Exclusion Act. It was a race-based policy that was upheld until 1942. The “National Origins Formula” lasted til ‘65." / Twitter
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "But of course, just because a statute is abolished doesn’t mean the unfairness is gone. Remaining are life & death implications of other statutes & *how* laws are enforced. That’s a key part of policy in a wide range of issues from schooling to marijuana + yes, immigration too." / Twitter
 
This also belongs in the A day without stupid? thread, but I want to put this here for the AOC bashers to see.

Trump’s apparent ignorance of basic political terms is on full display overseas - The Washington Post

For those that can't access the article, it's about how yet again our president has embarrassed himself and the nation overseas, this time at the G20.

Someone asked Trump about Putin saying Western-style liberalism had become obsolete. Trump thought the question was about liberals in California.

NEW YORK TIMES’S PETER BAKER: His comments to the Financial Times right before arriving here was that Western-style liberalism is obsolete. I know you probably --

TRUMP: Well, I mean he may feel that way. He’s sees what’s going on, I guess, if you look at what’s happening in Los Angeles, where it’s so sad to look, and what’s happening in San Francisco and a couple of other cities, which are run by an extraordinary group of liberal people.

He was also asked about the busing issue that came up in the Democratic debate. He was asked twice about it and one question even mentioned desegregation, and the other mentioned integration. Yet he thought the question was simply about a method to "get people to school" and offered that he has a policy coming out about it.

ABC NEWS’S JONATHAN KARL: I’m sure you saw the exchange between Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on the issue of federal busing — federally mandated busing. Biden thought that was a bad policy; he tried to stop it. Kamala Harris said it was an important part of desegregation, including in her own experience. Where do you stand on that issue of federally mandated busing?

TRUMP: First of all, before we get into that, I thought that she was given too much credit. ... And as far as that, I will tell you in about four weeks, because we’re coming out with a certain policy that’s going to be very interesting and very surprising, I think, to a lot of people. Jennifer, do you have a question?

WELKER: I just wanted to follow up on the question about busing. Do you see it as a viable way of integrating schools. Does that relate to the policy that you’re —

TRUMP: Well, that’s something that they’ve done for a long period of time. You know, there aren’t that many ways you’re going to get people to schools. So this is something that’s been done. In some cases, it’s been done with a hammer instead of a velvet glove. And, you know, that’s part of it.. But this has been certainly a thing that’s been used over the — I think if Vice President Biden had answered the question somewhat differently, it would have been a different result. Because they really did hit him hard on that one. But it is certainly a primary method of getting people to schools.

WELKER: And does it relate to the policy that you’re going to unveil that you just floated?

TRUMP: It relates to everything we’re doing. And you’ll be hearing about it over the next couple of months.

Trump even said he watched that part of the debate, and he would have been an adult during the time when busing was a national issue for many years.

That's a real moron. AOC does make mistakes in facts and in politics, but normal ones that most politicians and humans do, nothing too special. On the other hand, Trump is an epically stupid person and also the current president, someone with way more power and influence on everyone's lives than the young congresswoman. There's practically a daily replay of this same level of stupidity as recounted in A day without stupid?, yet the same mirror-deprived folks in this thread who have repeatedly called AOC a moron are tellingly silent about Trump's rampant idiocy. That you disagree with her politics doesn't make her a moron; that you can't tell the difference does make you one.

:beers:
 
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Since when are Obama-Trump voters “ordinary voters?” They are a tiny % of the electorate. (In fact, most voters didn’t even vote for Trump.) So on top of your troubling claims abt taxes, it’s justified to see the word “ordinary” here is a euphemism. The question is: for what? https://t.co/FoL8oDFR8Z" / Twitter noting Bret Stephens on Twitter: "Thread: I write a column that attempts to represent the way ordinary voters (e.g., people who voted for Obama and later Trump) likely saw the Dem debates. This representation of a view is read as an endorsement. It wasn't. Next come the accusations of racism... 1/4" / Twitter
Bret Stephens wrote a column claiming that the Democratic candidates are "divisive", and that they don't support what he thinks are Real Americans.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Actually, that would make government better - not worse. Imagine if more people in power spent years of their lives actually working for a living. We’d probably have healthcare and living wages by now. https://t.co/HoxIyu6ftj" / Twitter noting Piers Morgan on Twitter: "Could be worse... Ivanka could have been a bar-tender 18 months ago. https://t.co/xAj8Guc3hH" / Twitter responding to AOC's "It may be shocking to some, but being someone’s daughter actually isn’t a career qualification."

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Here’s how: [url]https://t.co/8Uv6mqm76f https://t.co/IFC8ddl79t" / Twitter[/url] noting PARIS on Twitter: "Remind us how being a bartender qualified you to be a member of Congress creating laws, voting on bills that impact Americans & the world. Let’s not go there & start comparing your resume to @IvankaTrump’s experience & resume. She also takes no salary. Way to support women... https://t.co/xM8PBkfyIF" / Twitter also responding to that AOC tweet.
She showed a screenshot of her election numbers: her (D): 78.2%, Anthony Pappas (R): 13.6%, Joe Crowley (Working Families): 6.6%, Elizabeth Perri (Conservative): 1.6%. Though there are plenty of yellow-dog Democrats. Her real triumph was defeating Joe Crowley in the primaries.
 
ABC NEWS’S JONATHAN KARL: I’m sure you saw the exchange between Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on the issue of federal busing — federally mandated busing. Biden thought that was a bad policy; he tried to stop it. Kamala Harris said it was an important part of desegregation, including in her own experience. Where do you stand on that issue of federally mandated busing?

TRUMP: First of all, before we get into that, I thought that she was given too much credit. ... And as far as that, I will tell you in about four weeks, because we’re coming out with a certain policy that’s going to be very interesting and very surprising, I think, to a lot of people. Jennifer, do you have a question?
Don't you worry about blank, I'll worry about blank.

In trying to cover for not knowing what she was talking about... or apparently not knowing what happened in the US in the 60s and 70s... he actually exposes his 'I have a plan coming out on blank' bullshit. Else... yeah, the US would be "very surprised" if he did come out with a plan on busing.

But to be fair to the AOC obsessed... Trump is only a President, Ocasio Cortez is a freshman Representative which means she is in a much higher position of authority.
 
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "As always, I‘m proud of my work in restaurants. I also worked for Sen. Ted Kennedy, piloted literacy projects in the South Bronx, studied Development Economics in W Africa, served as an Educational Director & won international science competitions before I ran for office, too." / Twitter
Some of the commenters brought up Teddy Kennedy's Chappaquiddick scandal, something that that politician's career survived.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Working people that GOP dismiss as “just a waitress/cook/etc” contain multitudes, & are just as capable & intelligent as anyone. Classism - judging someone’s character by their income - is disappointing to see from them. What is so appalling to GOP about having an honest job?" / Twitter
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Some of the most nuanced, intelligent, & grounded people I‘ve ever met weren’t at BU, MIT or Harvard events when I was a student. They were the plumbers & waitresses I hung out with at happy hour, who had ferocious intellectual curiosity *and* a lived context of the real world." / Twitter
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "In other words, Republicans who criticize my being a waitress as evidence of lacking skill can take their classism to the trash. You are insulting the capacities and potential of virtually every working person in America (&the 🌎) for having experience that’s earned, not bought." / Twitter
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "(And that’s if they even take out their own trash, which I doubt)" / Twitter
Seems to me like they want to win no matter what.
 
93-year-old Holocaust survivor wants AOC out of congress, given 'Nobel Prize in stupidity' for concentration camp comments.


CALEB HOWE
While Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and her friends in the media, are quintupling down on comparing American detention facilities to concentration camps, a survivor of the real concentration camps in Nazi Germany is livid, and speaking out.

Ditch the fake news ==> Click here to get news you can trust sent right to your inbox. It's free!
Ed Mosberg is 93 years old, and is one of the few people still alive who survived the Nazi camps. He lives in Morris Plains, NJ, and he spoke to the New York Post about the freshman congresswoman's comments.

"She should be removed from Congress. She's spreading anti-Semitism, hatred and stupidity," he said to the paper. "The people on the border aren't forced to be there — they go there on their own will. If someone doesn't know the difference, either they're playing stupid or they just don't care."

It's not just about the intent or the status of the people at the border, but the offensiveness of the comparison itself. Mosberg's whole family was killed, murdered by the Nazis. He was the lone survivor, and made it out of two concentration camps, Plaszów and
Mauthausen.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/aoc-holocaust-survivor-congress
 
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