Calisthenics at the Manzanar War Relocation Center, Owens Valley, California. 1943. Over 11,000 Japanese Americans were interned at Manzanar during World War II after President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, allowing for the forcible removal of Americans with Japanese ancestry from the western United States. In 1988 President Ronald Reagan signed legislation formally apologizing for the internments and ordering retributions of $20,000 be made to survivors of the camps or their heirs.
Influential conservative Iowa radio host Jan Mickelson has a plan to deal with undocumented immigrants. Have we considered making them
property of the state?
'As of this date' -- whenever we decide to do this -- 'as of this date, 30--' this is a totally arbitrary number, '30 to 60 days from now anyone who is in the state of Iowa that who is not here legally and who cannot demonstrate their legal status to the satisfaction of the local and state authorities here in the State of Iowa, become property of the State of Iowa.' So if you are here without our permission, and we have given you two months to leave, and you're still here, and we find that you're still here after we we've given you the deadline to leave, then you become property of the State of Iowa. And we have a job for you. And we start using compelled labor, the people who are here illegally would therefore be owned by the state and become an asset of the state rather than a liability and we start inventing jobs for them to do.
The program could also be used nationally.
We say, 'Hey, we are not going to make Mexico pay for the wall, we're going to invite the illegal Mexicans and illegal aliens to build it. If you have come across the border illegally, again give them another 60-day guideline, you need to go home and leave this jurisdiction, and if you don't you become property of the United States, and guess what? You will be building a wall. We will compel your labor. You would belong to these United States. You show up without an invitation, you get to be an asset. You get to be a construction worker. Cool!
While Mickelson pointed to Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Arizona "tent village" as the sort of "minimal shelter, minimal nutrition" required for the work camps, there was no word on what would be done with undocumented persons—such as children or the elderly—who were deemed not fit for manual labor.
After the discussion, Mickelson welcomed presidential contender Scott Walker onto the show, during which Media Matters reports Mickelson's idea for dealing with undocumented residents "didn't come up."
Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2009—Ambinder: White House thinks progressives want private insurance mandate:
Marc Ambinder, citing unnamed White House officials (thereby adding to the parade of anonymity), says the administration believes progressives will agree to dump the public option because health care reform will include "a goodybag" including a legal mandate that all individuals purchase coverage from a private health insurance plan.
The president continues to operate under the belief that liberals will warm to the bill when presented with a goodybag that includes includes an individual mandate, community rating, guaranteed issue, and a minimum required package. There's no chance, really, that a bill WON'T feature these reforms. Quietly, to secure and keep Democrats on board, the White House is going to bargain, providing inducements, like more money for favored projects, etc., in order to secure individual votes. |
Keeping in mind that this anonymously sourced report could be total bunk, it's worth pointing out that axeing the public option and requiring individuals to purchase coverage under a private health insurance plan would be a horrible political miscalculation. If you think we're having problems selling health care reform now, just wait until we try to explain why all adults under 65 will be required to purchase health insurance from the private sector with no public option.
Oh, you're not interested in making that argument? I didn't think so.
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On
today's Kagro in the Morning show,
David Waldman covers the gamut, from principled birthers to extreme extremists.
Greg Dworkin rounds up Horse Race Headlines, then explains how the articles’ contents are completely different. Greg &
Armando analyze polling data, move Trump from “impossible” to “not impossible.” What Trump gets about the electorate. What Trump does not get about the Latino electorate. Armando discusses what classifies as classified.
Joan McCarter notes Hillary dislikes stupid questions as much as anyone, but under different rules. The West! It burns! Fires can be caused by target practice, and now with flamethrowers. Planned Parenthood goes on offense.
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