United States Biden administration policies and actions - megathread

[Bigking321]

I think it's a singular focus on illegal immigration while ignoring its effect on limiting the smugglers and cartels.

Something like "Most illegal immigration is over stayed visas, the walls are a waste of time and money."

Not trying to put words in anyone mouth but it's a argument I've heard a lot.

 

[Megadeath]

I think it's a singular focus on illegal immigration while ignoring its effect on limiting the smugglers and cartels.

Something like "Most illegal immigration is over stayed visas, the walls are a waste of time and money."

Not trying to put words in anyone mouth but it's a argument I've heard a lot.

That's a part of it, but also that a simple physical barrier isn't really much of a deterrent. It will stop some casual attempted crossings I'm sure, but more dedicated efforts will get over, under, around or even through it. Illegal crossings of the US/Mexico border is "worth" billions of dollars annually. The criminals involved operate fleets of aircraft, boats and even submarines, and have border agents on the take. They're not just going to throw up there hands and retire to a life of honesty because of a 25 foot fence.

At least, that's the general issue. In this specific case I only said it won't work in helping with covid. That comes down to the simple fact that covid is there already, and the wall isn't. Whether a completed version would have done anything to reduce the spread (Maybe, but I'd doubt it'd be statistically significant given all the other vectors for entry to the state.) is immaterial, it isn't going to prevent the spread now.

 

[LordsFire]

That's a part of it, but also that a simple physical barrier isn't really much of a deterrent. It will stop some casual attempted crossings I'm sure, but more dedicated efforts will get over, under, around or even through it. Illegal crossings of the US/Mexico border is "worth" billions of dollars annually. The criminals involved operate fleets of aircraft, boats and even submarines, and have border agents on the take. They're not just going to throw up there hands and retire to a life of honesty because of a 25 foot fence.

At least, that's the general issue. In this specific case I only said it won't work in helping with covid. That comes down to the simple fact that covid is there already, and the wall isn't. Whether a completed version would have done anything to reduce the spread (Maybe, but I'd doubt it'd be statistically significant given all the other vectors for entry to the state.) is immaterial, it isn't going to prevent the spread now.

Can you give some case examples of how border walls were ineffective at substantially reducing illegal crossings?

 

[BlackDragon98]

That's a part of it, but also that a simple physical barrier isn't really much of a deterrent. It will stop some casual attempted crossings I'm sure, but more dedicated efforts will get over, under, around or even through it. Illegal crossings of the US/Mexico border is "worth" billions of dollars annually. The criminals involved operate fleets of aircraft, boats and even submarines, and have border agents on the take. They're not just going to throw up there hands and retire to a life of honesty because of a 25 foot fence.

At least, that's the general issue. In this specific case I only said it won't work in helping with covid. That comes down to the simple fact that covid is there already, and the wall isn't. Whether a completed version would have done anything to reduce the spread (Maybe, but I'd doubt it'd be statistically significant given all the other vectors for entry to the state.) is immaterial, it isn't going to prevent the spread now.

Maybe if they actually hurried up and finished the wall before Covid became a massive problem, the wall would have help prevent the spread of Covid.

If only the Commiecrats weren't such pests.

Can you give some case examples of how border walls were ineffective at substantially reducing illegal crossings?

Hmmm . . . On the contrary, I think they are quite effective.

There were hardly any nomadic barbarians in China for much of it's history, thanks to a certain large border wall.

 

[Megadeath]

Can you give some case examples of how border walls were ineffective at substantially reducing illegal crossings?

There aren't really many analogous comparisons. That said, pretty much every hardened border ever has proven ineffective at stopping dedicated efforts, from the great wall, through the maginot line, to the Berlin wall and the borders of Israel. It's a common theme that they're effective against low effort and disorganised attempts, but only a somewhat moderate hurdle for more serious ones. In that sense, I'd absolutely expect them to stop the big, obvious caravans of illegal immigrants, but there's no reason to think new border wall would be any more effective than ones that already exist when it comes to the more professional people smugglers, or the efforts of the cartels. As another poster already alluded to, the majority of "normal" illegal immigration doesn't actually come from illegal crossings in the first place, so while it makes for a good PR prop in stopping the big photogenic incidents it's not really that useful in stopping either the majority of illegal immigration, nor the more serious cases of organised criminal activity.

Maybe if they actually hurried up and finished the wall before Covid became a massive problem, the wall would have help prevent the spread of Covid.

If only the Commiecrats weren't such pests.

What on earth makes you think that illegal crossing of the Mexican border was a significant vector? The real issue was legitimate and legal travel from places like Europe, followed by failures in both quarantine and lock downs leading to rampant community transmission. Not helped by several serious super spreader events from people who refused to take the issue seriously, events like "covid parties", political rallies, and sporting events being obvious and well known ones.

Hmmm . . . On the contrary, I think they are quite effective.

There were hardly any nomadic barbarians in China for much of it's history, thanks to a certain large border wall.

Uh... The great wall was effective at stopping the nearby nomadic groups from just wandering in. It was ineffective at blocking serious attempts, and is quite well know to have failed repeatedly. Do you not know much about the wall's history?

 

[Abhishekm]

Is the bulk of the US immigration problem the opportunist border crossings though? Like the low planning or skill but high number of occurances?

 

[BlackDragon98]

What on earth makes you think that illegal crossing of the Mexican border was a significant vector? The real issue was legitimate and legal travel from places like Europe, followed by failures in both quarantine and lock downs leading to rampant community transmission. Not helped by several serious super spreader events from people who refused to take the issue seriously, events like "covid parties", political rallies, and sporting events being obvious and well known ones.

It will be a significant vector once those illegals start streaming thorough the border.

On the bright side, at least us Canadians don't have to deal with them anymore.

Uh... The great wall was effective at stopping the nearby nomadic groups from just wandering in. It was ineffective at blocking serious attempts, and is quite well know to have failed repeatedly. Do you not know much about the wall's history?

Castles became useless with the advent of gunpowder. Same thing happened to the wall. And Star Forts don't work because it's a wall, not a castle.

The only serious failures of the Wall was during the Song and Ming dynasty. Both cases involved the Chinese commanding officer defecting to the barbarians and opening the gate.

You should really check your facts before you start accusing a person of Chinese heritage about not knowing Chinese history.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

Except the wall isn't the only method of border enforcement. It would be a supplement to border security and aid in that by placing a physical obstacle that would allow border enforcement agents to make their patrols more efficient. It would allow for placement of sensors to remotely monitor the situation. It would improve the situation immensely, a situation that the Democrats are flat out making worse by refusing to enforce any border controls at all right now.

Of course it's not an obstacle that solves the problem of illegal immigration completely. But no one is saying it is. This is a distortion of the argument and a logical fallacy. It is instead a major aid to border enforcement, and politicians on both sides of the aisle have been promising one for decades.

And yes, walls are circumvented. We know our history. But fixed fortifications remain a useful tool in defense and military operations even to this day. So equating a border wall with castle walls is another logical fallacy: Castles became obsolete due to gunpowder, but illegal immigrants are not going to be equipped with cannons to bring the wall down.

Yes, illegal immigrants will try to get around the wall and circumvent our defenses. This does not mean that we should offer no defense. This argument is equivalent to saying that our houses will inevitably be robbed, so why bother having doors?

 

[Battlegrinder]

You Literally Can't Believe The Facts Tucker Carlson Tells You. So Say Fox's Lawyers

Fox News viewers don't expect facts from Tucker Carlson, according to network lawyers who defended their star in a slander lawsuit filed by a woman who said she had an affair with President Trump.

www.npr.org

That's not what the judgement says. It effectly means that, much like Tucker's counterparts on other channels like Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann (in the former case I mean that quite literally, as her legal team defended her against a similar suit using similar arguments,as your article notes), not everything Carlson says is 100% true factual information, his show is based on him taking factual information and then providing his own opinion on that information.

This is not the same as "Even Fox admits you can't trust what Carlson says", as NPR dishonestly tried frame it. This is "Not everything Carlson, who is known pundit and opinion commentator, says is a fact".

If you want to dispute the point being made here, you need to actually dispute the content of the claim, not just go "Tucker said it, therefore it must be wrong".

 

[Husky_Khan]

You can thank President Joe Biden for a successful Fourth of July.

 

[Zachowon]

So....
They are acting like COVID didn't cause what happend last year? Why not compare it to the last 4 YEARS

 

[boomghost]

So....
They are acting like COVID didn't cause what happend last year? Why not compare it to the last 4 YEARS

and they're completly ignoring the current rise in food prices overall, probably cherry picking the absolute worst products possible

 

[prinCZess]

You can thank President Joe Biden for a successful Fourth of July.

Now do insulin...

 

[Arch Dornan]

‘Not a healthy environment’: Kamala Harris’ office rife with dissent

There is dysfunction inside the VP’s office, aides and administration officials say. And it’s emanating from the top.

www.politico.com

 

[Knowledgeispower]

Now do insulin...

or most of our excesivly expensive drugs for that matter

 

[Typhonis]

Hell isn't gas the highest it's been in seven years?

 

[Chaos Marine]

 

[ATP]

Could be worst,he could declare that it was racist question.And that 4th July is racist,becouse there was not enough africanamerican there.

 

[DarthOne]

 

[Cherico]

Journalism has been dead for awhile its now just becoming obvious to every one whats happening.