... to be over the moon that Trump has been found GUILTY on all 34 charges?

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Whoop whoop!

As someone who supports Trump, what are your thoughts on project 2025?

Not entirely sure what it’s about tbh and given it was a project of the Heritage Foundation, I’m not sure about it.

We had four years of each candidate, and I very much preferred the Trump years. Strong economy and self-sufficiency in oil production.

Beyond the economy, I am also very concerned about border security and am hoping mass deportation will be implemented.

I voted for him in 2020 (not 2016 as I hated both candidates at the time) and will do so again

The US has remained a net exporter of energy since 2019.

President Biden is currently seeking the power to seal the border with Mexico. It will be ver interesting to see whether the Republicans attempt to impede him on this

I find it concerning that Trump's relationship with the architects of 2025 and the Heritage Foundation is being discussed widely by many reputable academic and news sources - has been for several years - and yet there are committed Trump supporters who aren't aware of it.

The project doesn't completely rely on a Trump victory, but a Trump victory would be hugely helpful for accelerating its radical agenda.

Project 2025 details extensive plans to dismantle climate protections, and to increase the use of fossil fuels. Agencies researching climate change would be downsized. Quote "The 920-page blueprint aims to cut “every regulation or anything, including the federal science itself, that goes toward fighting climate change and reducing U.S. emissions,”

On LGBTQ rights the project sets out detailed plans about removing protections against discrimination based on sexual and gender identity.

On reproductive rights the project sets out a plan to stop emergency contraception being covered by the ACA, and to reject the categorisation of abortion as healthcare (meaning it would no longer be covered by EMTALA)

Really encourage you to learn more about it.
https://washingtonspectator.org/project-2025-the-latest-plot-against-america/

Re: mass deportations - I know Trump was very keen to dismantle the DACA protections, which apply to those bought to the US without documentation as infants and children. Are these some of the people - many of who've grown up knowing no home except the US, many of whom will have US born children of their own now - that you want to see rounded up and held in internment camps then permanently deported to countries many of them have never even visited before?

Re: the economy - inflation and cost of living has been a problem across the developed world since the economy reopened fully following COVID.

Wonder what you think Trump would have done differently to Biden to reduce inflation?

How is he sealing the border?

Is that the same as Trump suggested earlier or something different

Pres Biden is expected to sign today an Executive Order allowing him to seal the border whenever the number of illegal crossings exceeds 2500 per day. It is at that level now.

It is said that he plans to include a proviso that when the number of illegal crossings is below 1500 the border will be open to asylum seekers

Pres Trump only built a few metres of a border wall at an outrageous cost. He was all bluster

How does he physically do it though?

What has he put in place to stop people crossing the desert etc?

Yeah, and imagine how we feel?
Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber shouldn't be choices for dogcatcher, let alone President.

2500 x 365= 912,500 Then add in the thousands/month who sneak in without stopping at the checkpoints and the other people from around the world who want to come here for asylum, family, terrorism, war....

How are they supposed to be taken care of when we cannot even feed and house the ones already here that are in poverty or homeless? We cannot take care of our veterans, but let's have another few million a year and then whine about the taxes and COL. smdh

Trump entered office with a strong economy. He essentially just didn’t fuck it up (until Covid, which it would be unfair to blame on him).

Biden came into office amid the fallout of Covid and, while the US wasn’t immune from the worldwide inflation issue, it navigated it more successfully than any other major country and now has the fastest growing economy in the world.

I am very aware of Biden’s shortcomings as a candidate but whereas Trump did fine on that front, in very easy times, Biden’s administration has done remarkably well in difficult times.

Trump entered office with a strong economy. He essentially just didn’t fuck it up (until Covid, which it would be unfair to blame on him).

But he fucked up so supremely during Covid that millions of Americans died hideous and unnecessary deaths, after listening to idiots like him downplaying the virus, and making ludicrous treatment suggestions that they followed.

Some would call that natural selection (except a lot of them had already passed their genes on.)

The only way evolution can deal with a species that generates stupid mature resource hogging individuals, is for it to slowly impact on the birth rate until the species becomes extinct. And disallow stupid immature individuals from reaching maturity.

What do folk think is happening right now ?

How many Americans died? Don't forget there were idiots in both parties, like Pelosi and de Blasio.

Project 2025 details extensive plans to dismantle climate protections, and to increase the use of fossil fuels. Agencies researching climate change would be downsized

I am fine with this. Fossil fuels are essential for human thriving. Of
course if they meant building nuclear power plants, I’d be all for it but it always means inefficient wind and solar.

On reproductive rights the project sets out a plan to stop emergency contraception being covered by the ACA, and to reject the categorisation of abortion as healthcare (meaning it would no longer be covered by EMTALA)

Honestly not reason enough for me to vote Biden. Plan B can be bought over the counter for like, 40 dollars. Much cheaper than an abortion.

Elective abortions are not healthcare, this is a very British way of thinking. It is a service you can pay for and it is much cheaper than actually having a child you can’t afford.

Re: mass deportations - I know Trump was very keen to dismantle the DACA protections, which apply to those bought to the US without documentation as infants and children. Are these some of the people - many of who've grown up knowing no home except the US, many of whom will have US born children of their own now - that you want to see rounded up and held in internment camps then permanently deported to countries many of them have never even visited before?

You have to maintain a hard line with immigration or people will always seek to bend the rules. DACA are not citizens, their parents have known this and failed to prepare them for life in their home country. How is this America’s fault? Why should we accept them, when that will only incentivize others to make the same choice down the line?

Nothing Trump did or did not do mattered. Look at Sweden — very light restrictions and just about the same as any other country. The restrictions did nothing … lockdowns didn’t work, masks didn’t work, shutting down schools didn’t work.

Tbh I was unhappy with Trump criticizing the Georgia governor for relaxing restrictions too early (still voted for him tho)

@Bullpuckey

Honestly not reason enough for me to vote Biden. Plan B can be bought over the counter for like, 40 dollars. Much cheaper than an abortion.

Women in Louisiana can only get emergency contraception if they have been the victim of a "sexually-oriented criminal offense”. Other states are in the process of following this precedent, therefore OTC Plan B will not be an option for women.

Elective abortions are not healthcare, this is a very British way of thinking. It is a service you can pay for and it is much cheaper than actually having a child you can’t afford.

But it’s not a “service you can pay for” in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, or West Virginia. Those women cannot pay for the service because abortions are illegal where they live.

Women in Louisiana can only get emergency contraception if they have been the victim of a "sexually-oriented criminal offense”. Other states are in the process of following this precedent, therefore OTC Plan B will not be an option for women

Source? I think this is referring to the abortion pill, not Plan B, which is OTC everywhere.

But it’s not a “service you can pay for” in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, or West Virginia. Those women cannot pay for the service because abortions are illegal where they live

They can advocate at the state level to change the laws and indeed many referendums have secured this right in states like Ohio and Kansas, which had banned the practice before. The voters in those states have every avenue to change the law if they wish.

The great thing is that this issue is no longer a national issue. It is decided at the state level, tbh it should always have been that way.

This is a real concern. The Supreme Court Justices were all specifically asked about Roe during their confirmations. They ALL stated that Roe was “settled precedent”. The minute they got a majority in the court, they voted the opposite to what they had said under oath during their confirmation hearings. This does not ethically sit well with me.

As you say, conservative states Kansas and Ohio have held referendums and both had results allowing women the right to make these decisions with their medical professionals. No surprise there, as the majority, even Republicans, believe in keeping abortions safe and legal. Having seen the Kansas and Ohio results, I do not believe that the state governments in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, or West Virginia will put this to a referendum. So no, “the voters in those states have every avenue to change the law if they wish,” as you say, is not actually true. In the meantime, a 10 year old rape victim in Indiana had to travel out of state to get her treatment. And there’s Kate Cox in Texas, who devastatingly found out that her planned pregnancy had gone horribly wrong, and was denied the treatment she required, despite being medically advised that the longer her pregnancy carried on, the more she was at risk of never being able to have a child in the future. She took her case to court and lost, so had to travel to get the medical treatment she required.

Women have had reproductive rights for 50 years, and it feels quite cruel that you’re happy to now dismiss them with, “they can advocate at state level if they wish.” The 10 year-old Indiana girl can’t even vote!

You want my source?

In 2022, Louisiana House Bill No. 1061 established that emergency contraception could only be legally dispensed to the victim of a "sexually-oriented criminal offense" who had A) requested it and B) taken a pregnancy test that returned a negative result (which would indicate that the offense had occurred within the past several days and the victim was not yet pregnant at the time the EC was administered).

"You have to maintain a hard line with immigration or people will always seek to bend the rules. DACA are not citizens, their parents have known this and failed to prepare them for life in their home country. How is this America’s fault?"

With DACA we're talking about a group of people who have found themselves in the situation they're in through absolutely no fault of their own. Many are people who are making a great contribution to society and as tax payers. Many are parents to American citizens. Your point: absolutely destroying the lives of these people and tearing apart the lives of their children is morally acceptable for the sake of upholding US immigration policy. It's the lack of humanity in your response. It's so chilling. And these are the people who will be targeted - working people who are strongly integrated into their communities, because these are the people immigration services will be able to find :-( It's so morally ugly.

"Elective abortions are not healthcare, this is a very British way of thinking. It is a service you can pay for and it is much cheaper than actually having a child you can’t afford."

There are women living in the US who are on the absolute margins of society - women experiencing third world levels of poverty. Homeless women. Drug addicts. Severely mentally ill women. Creating barriers to accessing abortion (which is the purpose of all anti-choice legislation) is really problematic for the most disadvantaged women with the most chaotic lives. And making it legally perilous for clinicians to offer abortion in instances where continuing with a pregnancy puts a woman's mental and physical health, future fertility and sometimes her life, at risk is having a big impact on the provision of reproductive care generally - which affects the health and safety of all women, not just those in need of abortion. Suggest you read about maternity deserts and the role of anti-choice legislation in exacerbating this problem: https://www.marchofdimes.org/maternity-care-deserts-report

"I am fine with this. Fossil fuels are essential for human thriving. Of
course if they meant building nuclear power plants, I’d be all for it but it always means inefficient wind and solar."

You're a climate change denialist?

Or you're willing to sell your children and grandchildren down the river so you can continue to have cheap energy?

The point is that the culture is very different in the states you mention and they don’t want abortion to be legal. If that’s what the voters want, then I’m fine with it.

Let’s not forget that in America, pro-lifers tend to be religious women. I don’t agree with them, but they are entitled to their views and to have their positions publically debated in their state legislatures.

Roe v Wade was a terrible decision anyway, even RBG mentioned how it should have gone through state legislatures in the first place instead of twisting the Constitution into a pretzel for a certain political outcome. Seeing where we are decades later, she was absolutely right.

You didn’t link the source?

PP offers discounted Plan B in New Orleans. Any CVS or Walgreens will have them OTC. Not sure where you are getting this?

https://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-center/louisiana/new-orleans/70125/new-orleans-health-center-3961-91650/emergency-contraception#:~:text=Over%2Dthe%2Dcounter%20emergency%20contraception,contraception%20at%20a%20nearby%20pharmacy.

I am a religious woman who has lived in three of the states mentioned above.

BTW - anyone who's ever looked back at genocides and persecutions throughout history and wondered how ordinary people could stand by and do nothing while others in their communities are targeted and treated with extreme cruelty - listen to a lot of Republican rhetoric about immigration, mental illness and the criminal justice system. It seems to be absolutely fundamental to Republican thinking that it's ok to dehumanise vast numbers of people in order to achieve certain political and economic ends.

Not saying we're immune to this thinking in the UK, but it's just harder to hear in the US because so many of these people identify as Christian. The hypocrisy is blinding.