1 In 10 Bernie Sanders Supporters Ended Up Voting For Trump

Fully 12 percent of people who voted for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries voted for President Trump in the general election.

…approval of President Barack Obama appears to be related — Sanders-Trump voters approved of Obama much less than other Sanders primary voters.

…And then there is race. Nearly half of Sanders-Trump voters disagree with the idea that “white people have advantages.”

…All of that said, one other figure that stuck out to Schaffner: Compared with those numbers above, Clinton 2016 voters were remarkably loyal — “I found basically no Clinton primary voters who voted for Trump,” he told NPR in an email.

…All of the unusual factors in election 2016 — the first female major-party candidate, the first major-party candidate with no military or elected-office experience — combined with the election’s surprises — that there were actually a number of Obama voters who went for Trump, that the far-better-funded candidate lost, that the Republicans essentially torched the playbook they wrote after they lost in 2012 — mean that there are plenty of questions to answer in coming years.

1 In 10 Bernie Sanders Supporters Ended Up Voting For Trump : NPR

hmmm

Jeff Sessions all but slams asylum door on migrant survivors of domestic, gang violence

Tens of thousands of people who are currently waiting for their asylum cases in the US to be resolved — or waiting for their chance to apply — just got the door all but slammed on them.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a ruling Monday in an immigration case, Matter of A- B-, that will make it hard or even impossible for Central Americans fleeing gang violence in their home countries, and women fleeing domestic violence, to get asylum in the US — or even be allowed to stay in the US to seek asylum instead of being summarily deported.

…Because immigration courts aren’t fully independent courts, the decision Sessions just issued is now law for all immigration judges in the US — and everyone else considering asylum cases. Jeff Sessions “basically is the Supreme Court of the immigration courts,” in the words of Sarah Pierce of the Migration Policy Institute.

Federal circuit courts can attempt to challenge the decision, but even if they fully overrule Sessions — and he doesn’t issue a clarification that sets an equally restrictive standard — their rulings would only apply within the geographic scope of that circuit. And if this case somehow made it to the Supreme Court, the Court would probably have serious reservations about overruling a well-established administrative process — above and beyond its own ideas about what ought to count as a “particular social group.”

…Sessions isn’t just raising the standard for who can ultimately get asylum. He’s raising the standard for who can pass the initial screening at the border to apply for asylum, as opposed to simply being deported as an unauthorized immigrant. In other words, any Central American migrants who are currently en route to the US are going to be met with a higher bar to entry than the one they thought was in place when they left. Thousands of people who already arrived in the US but have been sent to criminal court to be convicted of illegal entry before they can make an asylum claim may now find themselves unable to pass a screening they would have passed when they arrived. That includes hundreds if not thousands of parents whose children have been separated from them.

Parents may now have very little time at all to locate their children and be reunified with them before getting deported. And even if they can figure out where their children are, they may have to make a choice between being deported as a family and allowing the children to attempt to stay — with a lower chance that they will succeed than they might have had before, but a chance nonetheless — while the parent returns home, deprived of any chance at all.

Jeff Sessions all but slams asylum door on migrant survivors of domestic, gang violence – Vox

Aghhhh!

Meet Mariah Parker, the Georgia Politician Who Was Sworn in on a Copy of Malcolm X’s Autobiography

Meet Mariah Parker, the Georgia Politician Who Was Sworn in on a Copy of Malcolm X’s Autobiography | Teen Vogue

nice

These Programs Are Helping Prisoners Live Again On The Outside

Jacobs says a person’s successful re-entry into society can be viewed through how adequately they are able to meet six basic life needs: livelihood, residence, family, health, criminal justice compliance and social connections. Those needs manifest differently, depending on the phase an inmate is in when they’re released. Jacobs breaks these phases down into three categories: Survival, stabilization and self sufficiency.

…But sometimes successful re-entry can begin with something as simple as giving a former inmate a ride.

Take the “Ride Home Program” from the Anti-Recidivism Coalition in California, which was recently profiled in The New York Times Magazine. It employs former inmates to pick up ex-prisoners on the day they are released to help guide them through the changed world.

ARC’s drivers spend all day with the newly released prisoners — they buy them food and some clothing, give them advice on finding work and getting a haircut, as well as help with calling family on smartphones or showing photos of family members on Facebook. In other words, they start to reintroduce them to the culture — and being former inmates themselves, they can deliver that message in a uniquely empathetic way.

…MacKenzie found programs at the time covering a wide array of subjects — from vocational education to electronic monitoring — and found no “single explanation” for programs that weren’t effective. But she speculated it could be due to something as simple as poor implementation. It also could be because the programs are focused on “punishment, deterrence, or control” or don’t do enough to change the individual’s thought process during the program course work.

These Programs Are Helping Prisoners Live Again On The Outside | HuffPost

hmmmm

The unsettling incident of the too-quiet Native teens

We’ve heard of cops being called for a number of reasons, but never because teenage boys were too quiet at college, in this case, Colorado State University. The incident took place last week in Fort Collins when two Santa Cruz teenagers — using money they had saved — drove themselves to visit the university. Thomas Kanewakeron Gray, 19, and Lloyd Skanahwati Gray, 17, wanted to attend college together. Thomas is a student at Northern New Mexico College, while his brother is a senior at the Santa Fe Indian School. The brothers are from the Mohawk tribe.

They had taken a day off from school for that most American of rites, the college visit. They never completed their tour. Campus police interrupted; someone on the tour with the teens had called in a complaint. The brothers made a woman in the group “nervous” because she decided they were too quiet. They wore dark T-shirts. They joined the tour a bit late and declined to answer her nosy questions. They simply did not belong on a college tour, the woman believed. (The tour guide, by the way, said the boys’ behavior was nothing out of the ordinary.)

…It is not OK.

Yet here we are, in 2018. About the only bright spot we can see is that maybe, if people become more open about such widespread prejudices, society can confront and overcome them.

Overcome them we must, or the United States of America and its promise of liberty and justice for all will be lost.

The unsettling incident of the too-quiet Native teens | Editorials | santafenewmexican.com

Agggggggggggggggh!

CSU Police Body Cam Video Released, 911 Call: ‘Hands In Pockets’ Caused Concern « CBS Denver

“Thomas called me frantic, (saying) ‘Somebody called the police on us, because we were quiet,’” Lorraine Gray said.

Lorraine said she was confused, especially since the university was so highly respected by her children.

…“All year, (Thomas) kept talking about how he wanted to go. His dream school is CSU,” Lorraine Gray said. “He, and his brother whose graduation is in a few weeks, decided to take a campus tour together. Kind of a brother bonding thing.”

The boys would never finish the tour, after being separated from the group by police.

…The woman who called police, only identified by the university as a 45-year-old white woman, told 911 dispatch she was suspicious of the way the Gray brothers looked, and their mannerisms. She told dispatch she believed at least one of the brothers was Mexican.

CSU Police Body Cam Video Released, 911 Call: ‘Hands In Pockets’ Caused Concern « CBS Denver

Becky, this is why we can’t have nice things.

Dancing college grads dragged off stage, school apologizes for being ‘inappropriately aggressive’ – ABC News

The University of Florida’s apology has fallen short for some of the 21 graduates whom a school staff member yanked off the stage this weekend as they danced to celebrate their achievements during a spring commencement ceremony.

…Another student, Nafeesah Attah, told “GMA” the dances were symbolic gestures of joy that had meaning rooted to their fraternities and sororities. She said the response of the white university staff member who grabbed her and the others and shoved them off stage “was not arbitrary.”

“It was definitely contingent on your race … other white students who were dancing were not perceived as a threat,” Attah said.

…”I want to personally apologize for us doing that on behalf of myself and also the University of Florida,” [University of Florida President Kent]Fuchs said.

…But [graduates] Attah and Telusma said Fuchs was on stage at the time of the incident and did nothing to stop the usher from ruining their milestone moment.

Dancing college grads dragged off stage, school apologizes for being ‘inappropriately aggressive’ – ABC News

Agggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggh!

Migrants, young and old, are not always related. Border Patrol says fear of child trafficking forces separations

Since October, more than 700 migrant children have been taken from adults claiming to be their parents, including more than 100 children under age 4. U.S. officials said they were trying to protect children who may be victims of trafficking or exploitation, but migrant advocates argue it’s the latest attempt by the Trump administration to stop migrant families from seeking asylum.

A “zero tolerance” border enforcement policy that took effect last week and was announced Monday by Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions may result in families who illegally cross the border being separated after their arrest, with parents going to adult detention facilities and youths going to juvenile shelters.

…It’s difficult for migrants to assert parental rights. Many cross the border with their children’s birth certificates tucked in pockets or plastic bags. Agents often call local consulates to check families’ documents. But the documents can be faked, agents said. Even if consular staff verify them, agents may still challenge migrants’ claims to their children.

…Sometimes the adults are relatives — an aunt, grandparent or step-parent, she said.

…Maria Ramirez said the Border Patrol questioned her about her children, ages 17, 15 and 5. Agents didn’t believe she was their mother, even after she produced Honduran birth certificates, Ramirez said.

“They said they were fake,” she said. “They gave me the impression I would be deported and told me I had to sign the papers.”

Ramirez, 37, saw other parents at the processing center who were told the same thing. Unlike her, they had signed the paperwork and were deported.

Ramirez refused to sign deportation papers, insisting her children’s birth certificates were real. She and her 5-year-old son were held separately from her older daughters for five days, but were ultimately reunited.

Migrants, young and old, are not always related. Border Patrol says fear of child trafficking forces separations

Sigh..,

Want airline food? Take Amtrak

It’s part of a plan to dismantle the National Network—shutting down most, if not all, long-distance trains, to focus on the Northeast Corridor, Midwest (Chicago) and California short- and medium-distance services, and state-supported trains.

…Why don’t you just come out and say it: “Amtrak is getting rid of dining cars.” No BS. No dancing around the issue. Tell it straight up. It’s what’s happening, right?

Anybody want to eat in a roomette?

…Already gone are the Coast Starlight parlor cars, in-train tour guides on some western trains, most charters, and private railcars bringing up the markers (for a hefty fee, of course). The “cross-country café” is replacing, I’m told, full dining service on Superliner trains: One crew member runs the microwave, another delivers the meal.

Want airline food? Take Amtrak – Railway Age

hmmmm

Report: Rural Poverty In America Is ‘An Emergency’

There are three childhood disruptors that account for why the U.S. ranking is relatively low, says Miles, “One was our infant mortality rate, which is by global standards, pretty high. The second was the teen pregnancy rate, which, although it’s getting better in the United States, it’s still, again, globally quite high,” Miles says.

“And then the third was the number of children that are actually victims of homicide in the United States.”

…According to estimates by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nearly a quarter of children growing up in rural America were poor in 2016, compared to slightly more than 20 percent in urban areas.

…Perhaps not surprisingly, the report found the highest concentrations of child poverty, overall, in the Mississippi Delta, Appalachia and on Native American reservations.

…Danilo Trisi, one of those authors, says the drop in child poverty was due in large part to the federal safety net programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, and the earned income tax credit help low-income families make ends meet.

Report: Rural Poverty In America Is ‘An Emergency’ : NPR

Sigh…

Busboy who cradled dying Robert F. Kennedy remembers horror of 1968 assassination

For Romero, the photo was shattering on a very personal level. He spent decades averting his eyes when confronted by the snapshot. To him, it was a grotesque reminder of the shocking slaying — one that stoked a confusing mix of anger, guilt and unwanted attention.

…“About five years ago, I finally looked at the picture and really studied it. I could finally see what a lot of other people saw. Here was a senator who tried to help minorities, people who couldn’t help themselves, and in the moment when he needed help, here was a Mexican-American busboy trying to comfort him,” Romero told The News.

Romero, now a father and grandfather working in the construction industry in San Jose, Calif., recalled immigrating to the U.S. from Nayarit, Mexico, when he was 10.

“It felt so great to be in America. But as I grew older, I heard grownups say all we were good for was selling tacos,” he recalled.

“At 15 to 16 years old, you start to feel the hate, and you start to internalize it,” he said.Romero said it was a big deal when he heard how Kennedy’s brother John F. Kennedy praised Mexican people as hardworking and family-oriented.

…“I wanted to go and help serve that night because I really wanted to see if what I had heard and seen and felt in my heart was true. And it was beyond real for me. When he looked at you, he looked at you,” Romero said.

…Romero said that by sharing his memories on the anniversary of Kennedy’s death, he hopes to reach at least one young person today who might be feeling the same way he did as a teen.He said in the era of President Trump’s crackdown on immigration, it’s especially important to honor Kennedy’s legacy.

“Trump right now, he’s using immigrants, whether Muslims or Latin Americans, as scapegoats. He has brought a lot of hate toward immigrants and minorities,” Romero said.

“My hope is that my talking about (Kennedy) causes a young person to look back in history and listen to his words and pick up his way of thinking,” he said.

“I realized the best way to honor Bobby was to talk about what I saw in him.”

Busboy who cradled dying Robert F. Kennedy remembers horror of 1968 assassination – NY Daily News

hmmm